NEW YORK — Commercial space station developers are questioning whether NASA’s reconsideration of continuous human presence in low Earth orbit risks holding back International Space Station alternatives. Pam Melroy, NASA Deputy Administrator, last month said the agency was reassessing whether it needed a “continuous heartbeat or a continuous capability” while transitioning to commercial alternatives after retiring the ISS in 2030. The assessment will influence the next phase of NASA’s Commercial LEO Development (CLD) program, which is due to award funding for ISS alternatives in 2026. Speaking Nov. 20 during the…
