WASHINGTON – NASA has sharply increased prices for cargo and other resources to commercial users of the International Space Station, a move that has left some companies confused and frustrated.
NASA announced on February 25 that it was revising the commercial marketing pricing policy published in June 2019 as part of a new low-Earth orbital commercialization strategy. That policy, which puts aside a fraction of station resources for commercial applications in addition to research and development, includes a price list of resources such as on-station and cargo and crew time to operate.
In a statement published with some fanfare on the agency’s website, NASA said it was updating the price list to reflect the full return for the value of NASA resources. NASA said the decision to do so was “based on discussions with stakeholders, current market growth and the expectation of future business organizations capable of providing similar services.”
By removing the subsidy, the prices of those services increased significantly. The cost of delivering one kilogram of cargo to a station, known as “upmass”, has risen from $ 3,000 to 20,000 20,000. The cost of bringing one kilogram down from the station, “Downmas”, went from $ 6,000 to $ 40,000. An hour of crew member time, previously 17,500, is now $ 130,000.
The sudden change in prices, which took effect immediately, took some ISS users by surprise. An executive with a company who spoke in the background because the company is still evaluating the effects of price changes was not aware of NASA’s decision to raise prices until contacted by Space News.
“NASA has not done a good job of communicating with stakeholders,” said Jeffrey Member, chief executive of Nanorex. “We’re in discussions with customers and all of a sudden we’re being informed of a big extra.”
That sudden increase in prices forced Nanorex to postpone discussions with two potential customers, who said the increase “determined the value of their budget”.
Another executive speaking in the background was unaware of any discussion by NASA about changing the pricing policy before the announcement. The executive said the increase could lead some consumers to look for an alternative.
NASA did not elaborate on its decision to go beyond what it calls “absolute value” of prices outside its statement, and did not respond to questions about pricing policy. Manber said such a change should be discussed first by the regulatory and policy committee of the NASA Advisory Committee, on which they serve, but the issue did not come up in its meetings.
Manber said NASA could respond to the language in a report with the Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations Bill, which provided only માત્ર 17 million for Leo commercialization efforts, comparing the request. Is 150 million. The report instructs NASA on the projects selected by its LEO commercialization efforts at the station, the total cost incurred by NASA for providing congressional data and its implementation, and how much will be reimbursed to NASA.
The report also bans NASA from using the money “to subsidize the cost of any project primarily intended for marketing, advertising or entertainment purposes.” It appeared in response to criticism facing the agency for some commercial ISS initiatives, such as the possibility of Estelle wearing cosmetics at the station for a photo shoot or the shooting of a film starring actor Tom Cruise at the station.
Manber argued that NASA should “fine-tune” pricing policy, charging full price for marketing and recreational activities but continuing to subsidize resources for other business work, such as activities that have an education angle. “I believe there are educational efforts and commercial projects with partners that value the International Space Station. They show American leadership, “he said. “There is a need for discussion with Congress and NASA.”
The LEO commercialization policy also enabled private astronaut missions for the ISS, and provided a price list of the resources needed for such a mission. This includes $ 22,500 per person per day for crew supplies and 11 11,250 per person for life support.
The revised list no longer includes prices for services for private astronaut missions. NASA is preparing to re-evaluate the value and quantity of resources available for private astronaut missions and plans to update that pricing policy in the near future, the agency said.
Axiom Space, which is flying a four-person private astronaut mission to the station in early 2022, is not worried about possible price changes. “Xiom never relied on NASA to provide all the services they listed, so we would not be affected by this development,” said Bau Holder, a company spokesman. “Axiom aims to take care of itself and its crew on the orbit.”
Manber said he hopes revised policy issues are not the final word by NASA. “I hope this is the beginning of a conversation on more mature support for commercialization.”
