NASA to develop new & flexible framework for novel space activities: US VP Kamala Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris, during the National Space Council on September 9, said that her country’s space administration is devising new rules to enable novel space activities. During her address at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, she said that the new framework of rules would “promote innovation and enable competition” considering the entry of commercial companies into the space sector. Harris further said that these rules will be “flexible enough to cover space activities that have not yet even been imagined”.

The VP made these statements while affirming NASA’s participation in managing the International Space Station (ISS) after President Joe Biden announced the extension of the US’ role through 2030. “We are aware that the International Space Station will not be operational forever. Which is why NASA is working with the private sector to develop the first generation of space stations”, Harris said. 

So far, multiple private players such as Sierra Space, Blue Origin, and Axiom Space are developing commercial orbital outposts which would eventually replace the ISS, which is currently run by five member states (the US, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan). On the other hand, countries such as China and Russia are planning their own space stations which are expected to be completed in this very decade. 

China’s space station named Tiangong is nearing its completion as two of its three modules have been launched and the third is expected to dock with the rest later this year. On the other hand, the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) is expected to be completed by 2025. Recently, Russian space chief Yuri Borisov announced that Moscow would exit the decades-old space station after 2024, however, NASA’s recent statement after a multilateral board meeting revealed that “each partner confirmed it will continue to work through respective government processes on station extension and utilization beyond 2024."

NASA’s plan to retire the ISS

Earlier this year, NASA released a plan to de-orbit the space station in 2030 and crash it into the Pacific Ocean, thus making way for commercial facilities. The plan states that the orbital outpost would be made to fall in a location called Point Nemo in the Pacific. This location is also called a graveyard of spacecraft as it is the most distant point from any land. Once above the targeted spot, mission controllers would use the space station’s propulsion systems to steer the outpost into the ocean.