NASA opens bidding for space stations to replace the ISS

On Friday, NASA released its final request for proposals. It's asking American companies to design and build new space stations. These stations will replace the International Space Station. Companies have until December 8 to submit formal plans. NASA wants a private station ready to fly by around 2030. That way, astronauts never have a gap with nowhere to live in orbit.

The ISS is old. NASA has wanted out of the station-owning business for years. The agency would rather just rent space on ones that private companies build and operate instead. The risk is timing. The ISS is set to retire around 2030. No private company has ever built and certified a crewed station from scratch before. And never on a government deadline like this one.

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Can a private company actually build a space station on time? That's the real test here, not whether NASA wants one — everyone agrees it does. If the proposals that come in are weak, this plan stalls. If building drags past 2030, it stalls too. Either way, the U.S. could lose its continuous foothold in orbit. That hasn't happened in over two decades.