NASA under pressure over private space station, ISS operation may last longer

NASA has received a strict schedule from the US Senate to ensure the transition from the ISS to private space stations. The operation of the International Space Station (ISS) is to be discontinued in just under five years, and according to US Senator Ted Cruz, NASA has not yet taken sufficient care of successors. The pressure on the space organization has now been increased to urgently address commercial space stations. This is because the ISS mission will only be ended when private replacements are operational in orbit. This could lead to an extension of the ISS operating period.

At the beginning of November 2025, the ISS celebrated its 25th anniversary, as the first ISS crew set foot on the station on November 2, 2000. Some parts of the space station are therefore almost three decades old. For this reason, it was decided to likely end the ISS mission in 2031. The station will then be lowered in a controlled manner and is expected to burn up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere. Private space companies are to build stations in space for the continuation of scientific experiments.

Strict Space Station Schedule for NASA

Although various companies such as Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Vast Space are working on it, these companies do not yet know exactly what requirements NASA has for new space stations. Therefore, US Senator Ted Cruz has increased the pressure. Last week, his committee supplemented the “NASA Authorization Act of 2026,” which sets the space organization's budget with a schedule for commercial space stations, as Ars Technica reports.

According to this, NASA is to publish the requirements for commercial space stations in low Earth orbit within 60 days. Within 90 days, the final tender is to be published to solicit bids from the industry. Finally, NASA is to conclude contracts with two or more providers of such stations within 180 days. This is intended to get the space organization concretely moving on the development of private space stations this year.

Private Space Companies Pleased

Axiom Space welcomed the plans and stated in a post on X that the company supports the NASA Authorization Act of 2026. The CEO of Vast Space, Max Haot, also agrees with the legislative amendment and said in an interview: “We welcome the renewed commitment to the transition from the ISS to commercial alternatives.” Haot added that Vast will have people in orbit by the end of 2030, but there should be no fixed date for the end of the ISS. This should instead depend on when the private space stations are operational.

The legislative amendment follows this approach, as it states that the “NASA Administrator may not initiate the decommissioning of the ISS until a commercial destination in low Earth orbit has achieved initial operational capability.” However, the US Senate was likely more concerned about a possible extension of ISS operations until 2032 in the event of further delays. However, this would have to be coordinated with international partners such as Russia.

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