The planned 2030 termination of ISS (International Space Station) operations and the establishment of the NASA Commercial LEO (Low Earth Orbit) Destinations program to support one or more commercial space stations to succeed ISS is a singular opportunity for a giant leap forward in the development of a space-based commercial economy and a non-governmental human presence in space. Private space stations also represent a significant step towards the long term goal of the establishment of O’Neill space colonies and lunar settlements.
The Challenge of Commercial Space Stations presentation looks at the business case for commercial space stations and surveys the market for their services while addressing the political, technological, environmental, and economic challenges they will face.
Use is made of Porter’s Five Forces Model to characterize the competitive environment for commercial space stations. Attention is focused on the nature of industry competition; the nature of the threat of new space station entrants into the market; the power of station’s suppliers, especially that of launch providers; the power of customers with respect to price elasticity; and the threat posed by alternative suppliers of the services the space stations may be offering.
Separately, a PESTEL analysis is used to characterize the macro-environment within which the stations will operate. The PESTEL analysis looks at the roles of the political environment, the economic environment, the sociological environment, the technological environment, the legal environment, and the environmental environment.
A brief overview will be provided for the Axiom Station; Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin’s Starlab; Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef; and Northrop Grumman’s commercial space station, the latter three having been awarded NASA contracts as a part of the NASA Commercial LEO Destinations program.
| Date: | Sunday March 26, 2023 |
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| Time: | 12:30PM – 2:30PM (The actual presentation begins at 1:00PM and ends at 2:00PM. All are free to come early and stay late.) |
| Location: | Rasmussen South Meeting Room (on the 2nd Floor), Schaumburg Township District Library 130 South Roselle Road, Schaumburg, IL Link to Google Maps for Schaumburg Library Location NOTE: The library opens at Noon on Sundays. |
| Description: | The Challenge of Commercial Space Stations presentation examines space stations business and market environment, as well as a variety of related factors that will impact the sustainability of commercial space stations. This program is free and open to the public. |