NASA is changing how it uses the International Space Station. Here's why that matters

At the end of 2024, NASA pivoted from a bi-partisan investment in the importance of maintaining a permanent American presence in space in favour of a shuttle-like intermittent access once the International Space Station (ISS) is deorbited.

This decision, if left intact, will change the space economy built on the International Space Station’s two decades of operations.

On November 2^nd, 2000, a Russian launch vehicle docked to the brand-new International Space Station, bringing a three-person crew to their new home in low-Earth orbit. At the time, few could have imagined that the launch of two Russian cosmonauts and one American astronaut marked the beginning of humanity’s permanent presence in space. Since that day forward, humans have been permanently present in space, living and working in this unique environment for one main purpose: the betterment of humankind.

The commercial and political impact of the ISS era has been extraordinary. In two decades, an entire ecosystem of companies has developed to support the growing human spaceflight and space research economy with the Space Station as the centerpiece. The ISS has touched every part of our lives. It has enabled new medical developments like new pharmaceuticals and medical devices. It has engaged hundreds of thousands of students in the possibilities of space, and opened new market opportunities for commercial industries, improved everyday technologies like memory foam and cordless tools likes drills and vacuum cleaners.

Commercial US launches to space are now routine. Crew and cargo infrastructure initially designed to support the ISS now enable completely private human spaceflight missions that continue to push the boundaries of exploration. American industry took the lead in the commercial small satellite market after frequent and affordable launch and deployment opportunities became available through the ISS, building the initial customer demand for today’s popular rideshare missions. Now these companies observe and record crucial information from space, such as ecological data. The robustness of space activities has advanced far beyond the days of two-week, government-led intermittent ISS missions to a once unimaginable commercial space ecosystem.

However, after 25 years, the ISS is ageing, now at an accelerating rate. Air leaks perplex NASA and Roscosmos. In 2020, the White House recognized the need for a next generation of space stations and directed NASA to “maintain continuous human presence in Earth orbit by transitioning from ISS to commercial platforms and services.” This national space policy transcended politics and remained the directive throughout the following administration and maintained bi-partisan support in Congress.

As directed by Congress, NASA is driving this space station programme, known as Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destination(s)(CLD), that will select two commercial teams to own and operate space stations that will host a new class of NASA and US government partner astronauts.

Unfortunately, some today are questioning the value of permanent presence in space. But a return to “part-time access” in space, as in the Space Shuttle era preceeding the era of the ISS, would endanger crucial projects. Having intermittent crews to undertake piecemeal research and losing the physiological studies of long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars are just a few impacts if we lose permanent crew.

By reverting from permanent crewed access to space, research innovations would be thwarted, advances in microbiological research, plant growth and medicine would grind to a halt. Countless companies in the commercial human spaceflight ecosystem have spent years building relationships with household name brands to help them understand and leverage microgravity research to advance everyday products we use on Earth. That goes away.

Some in the industry are looking at robotics and the future of human space exploration. The industry is realizing incredible advances, but laboratories on Earth or in the harsh, remote space environment, still require constant human support and attention for daily activities, not even considering repairs and unexpected issues. Robotics technology has not yet reached its full potential in drug discovery and development.

Just as critical, choosing to revert the course of human spaceflight advancements would crush the nation-wide industrial base — a base that also delivers critical national security technology, which took decades to build after the Space Shuttle ended with no transition plan.

The political ramifications of abandoning permanent human presence in space are the most worrisome. Geopolitical competition in space is heating up. Space is, unfortunately, now a contested domain.

For a quarter of a century, America’s vision of an outpost in space staffed by an international crew of researchers and professional astronauts has been the strongest pathway to a vibrant space economy. Future commercial space stations are expected to be financed upwards of 90% by the private sector and support the demand for permanent crew, with companies and investors believing that it is the right pathway to strengthen emerging markets like biopharma, advanced medical products and next-gen agricultural products.

There is no going back. Space is more than just exploration. It’s the future of the global supply chain, clean manufacturing, medical advancements and most importantly – our collective security here on Earth.