The program is part of NASA’s efforts to open
the station to private industries, which the
agency hopes will inherit the orbiting
platform someday.
Eventually, the space station will become too
expensive for the government to maintain,
said Bill Gerstenmaier, a NASA associate
administrator. So the idea is to let the private
sector start using the station now and
perhaps eventually take it over, he said.
The NASA officials said some revenue from
commercial activities will help the agency
focus its resources on returning to the
moon in 2024, a major goal of the Trump
administration. The agency said this will
also reduce the cost to U.S. taxpayers for
this next lunar mission.