Northrop Grumman space station | Image: Northrop Grumman
NASA announced the selection of three US companies that will receive government funding to further develop private space stations on Thursday. From a set of 11 proposals, NASA selected Blue Origin, Nanoracks LLC, and Northrop Grumman to receive over $400 million in federal funds through three separate Space Act Agreements.
NASA began seeking proposals in July for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development (CLD) program, which aims to support the development of commercial space stations. It is a part of a bigger plan to eventually replace the International Space Station (ISS) with commercial space stations. Through this model, NASA would be a customer of the commercial space industry, allowing it to save on costs and focus on basic…
