(WASHINGTON) — Private spaceflight is transforming from joy rides for billionaires into a gateway for nations to establish their space presence, one expert says, as the latest Axiom Space mission returned to Earth on Tuesday.
The mission marked a historic moment for India, Poland and Hungary, who sent astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time in decades. Rather than waiting for traditional space programs, these nations booked private flights through Axiom Space, which aims to build the world’s first commercial space station, and SpaceX, which provided the spacecraft the astronauts traveled on.
“This is huge,” said ABC News contributor and astrophysicist Hakeem Oluseyi. “These nations didn’t go through NASA or wait for Russia. They booked the private flight and brought their own experiments. That is a global power flex.”
The mission serves as more than just a demonstration of private space capabilities, Oluseyi said. With NASA planning to decommission the ISS by the end of 2030, Axiom Space, headquartered in Houston, is positioning itself to become “the new landlord of low Earth orbit,” according to Oluseyi. The company has already secured agreements with multiple countries for its own planned space station.
However, the increasing privatization of space access raises questions about America’s future role in space exploration. While another private company, SpaceX, currently provides the only means for launching astronauts from U.S. soil, Oluseyi emphasized the importance of maintaining both public and private investment in space.
“We perform best when there is a combination of both public and private investment,” Oluseyi said, noting current federal budget pullbacks in space and science funding. “Strategically, America needs both public and private to maintain leadership… This is a time not to pull back, but to invest ever more aggressively.”
As space becomes more accessible to new participants, Oluseyi said continued investment and innovation are crucial for maintaining U.S. leadership in space exploration — even as private spaceflight takes off.
“You can’t stop that cat out of the bag, but you can maintain leadership, you can be the one to innovate and take us to the next level,” he said.
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