NASA chief Jim Bridenstein told lawmakers Wednesday that the United States is determined to maintain a presence in Earth orbit after the International Space Station is disposed of so that China does not gain a strategic advantage.
The first parts of the ISS were launched in 1998 and have continued since 2000.
The station, which serves as a space science laboratory and has partnerships between the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada, is currently expected to be operational by 2030.
“I’ll tell you something that worries me a lot – and the day will come when the International Space Station will end its useful life,” Brydenstein said.
“For the United States to have a low-Earth presence in low-Earth orbit, we must be prepared to move forward,” he added.
To that end, NASA has requested $ 150 million for fiscal year 2021 to help develop the commercialization of low-Earth orbits defined as 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) or less above the Earth’s surface.
“We want to see a public-private partnership where NASA can deal with commercial space station providers so that we can have a permanent uninterrupted human presence in low-Earth orbit,” Bridensta said.
“I don’t think it’s in the nation’s interest to build another international space station – I think it’s in the nation’s interest to support the commercial industry, where NASA is a customer.”
Bridenstein warned lawmakers that the U.S. should not be allowed in front of the planned Chinese space station. This is so serious about maintaining the supremacy of space that Beijing hopes it will be operational by 2022.
The station is named Tiangongg, meaning Heavenly Palace, and in June Chinese state media announced that it was partnering with 23 companies from 17 countries to conduct scientific experiments on board.
These countries include developed and developing countries such as France, Germany and Japan, as well as Kenya and Peru, the Xinhua news agency said.
“China is rapidly building what they call the ‘Chinese International Space Station’ and is rapidly marketing that space station to our international partners,” Bridenstein said.
“It would be a tragedy if, after all its time, and after all these efforts, we left the low Earth orbit and took control of that region.”
He explained that the microgravity of the ISS has great potential for the treatment of people with macular degeneration, ranging from innovations in pharmaceuticals to the printing of 3D human organs to the creation of artificial retinas.
Bridensta said it was therefore necessary to fund NASA to pay companies to set up the space station, where it would be one of many customers to spend on its own.
He added that “ultimately the territory should not be transferred to another country which is not in our interest.”
