Nasa seeks proposals for 2 new private astronaut missions to ISS

The US space agency is seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

The first mission will occur between fall of 2022 and mid-2023 and the second will occur between mid-2023 and the end of 2023.

“A private astronaut mission involves US commercial spacecraft transporting private astronauts to the space station, where they conduct activities aboard the orbiting laboratory or a commercial structure attached to it. NASA is enabling up to two short-duration private astronaut missions per year,” the space agency said in a statement on Friday.

With these opportunities, US commercial companies will continue to play an essential role in establishing a sustained presence in low-Earth orbit (LEO) through the agency’s Commercial LEO Development Programme, it added.