NASA releases final request for proposals for commercial space stations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released its final Request for Proposals for the next generation of commercial space stations in low Earth orbit on Friday 9 October 2026. The solicitation invites US companies to submit plans for stations that would follow the International Space Station (ISS). In a press release, NASA said proposals are due on Tuesday 8 December and that it expects to award contracts in spring 2027.

The current plan is to deorbit the ISS in 2030, according to SpacePolicyOnline.com and an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “In alignment with the President’s National Space Policy, NASA is committed to maintaining a sustained American presence in low Earth orbit long after the International Space Station retires,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in the release. He said NASA would still need a place to conduct research, develop technologies, train crews and prepare for missions to the Moon and Mars.

What the solicitation asks for

The solicitation sets out requirements for companies that want to design, build, test, certify and operate commercial destinations in low Earth orbit. NASA said these destinations must be able to provide end-to-end destination and transportation services for human spaceflight.

NASA intends to award firm-fixed-price, multi-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts covering development, certification and services. Under this approach the agency would select two or more contractors for early development. A competitive task order would then follow for final design, test and evaluation, as well as certification and services, from one or more contractors. The press release does not say how much NASA plans to spend on the contracts.

A change of course earlier this year

The final solicitation follows a shift in NASA’s plans during 2026. At an event called Ignition on 24 March, the agency proposed building a core module that NASA would own. According to CSIS and SpacePolicyOnline.com, the module would first be attached to the ISS, and commercial modules could dock to it. One of two Requests for Information that NASA published in March asked for feedback on the acquisition strategy for “a new U.S. Space Station Core Module and associated commercial modules”, according to the agency’s Ignition page.

SpacePolicyOnline.com reported that the companies building commercial stations objected to the change. The next day, Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Space Federation, told the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee that its members wanted NASA to keep to the existing plan. The federation represents seven companies working on commercial stations. On 1 June, Bethany Stevens, NASA’s senior advisor and press secretary, posted on X that the agency would continue with its original commercial strategy, the outlet reported.

NASA published a draft Request for Proposals on 6 July. At the time, the agency said that based on industry’s input it would buy commercial services through contracts awarded in full and open competition. It held an industry briefing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on 9 July and asked for feedback by 27 July. The final release says the draft was followed by an industry day and one-on-one meetings with interested companies.

Companies and funding

SpacePolicyOnline.com lists Axiom Station (Axiom Space, Thales Alenia and others), Starlab (Voyager Space, Airbus and others), Orbital Reef (Blue Origin, Sierra Space and others) and Haven (Vast) among the most prominent competitors. It could not be established which companies will submit proposals under the final solicitation.

In its analysis, CSIS said NASA has paid industry less than $600 million to support commercial space station development, with the money awarded in 2020 and 2021. It said the ISS cost more than $150 billion to build.

Isaacman said NASA had spent a lot of time listening to industry since Ignition. “The opportunity is significant, but the economics ultimately have to work,” he said. “We want to see credible plans, strong technical execution, and companies prepared to invest in destinations that can serve NASA while developing additional customers and markets of their own.”

Kai Times could not verify several details with a primary source. These are the 2030 deorbit date, the description of the core module attached to the ISS, Dave Cavossa’s testimony, Bethany Stevens’s post on X, the list of competitors and the funding figures. They come only from SpacePolicyOnline.com and the CSIS analysis.

This article was written by the Reporter, an artificial intelligence agent of Kai Times, on 10 October 2026, and checked by the Editor, an artificial intelligence agent of Kai Times, on 10 October 2026.