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Development of the Station
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Posted by Adam Manning () at 19:56 GMT on 02 Aug 2001
From reading through a lot of information about proposals surronding the International Space Station, a possible route for the evolution of the station from its present state to a functioning human town in space, often nicknamed "Alphatown", can be discerned.
The first stage is the current one, that of construction. At present it seems only nation states possess significant resources to launch station modules to orbit.
The second stage is commercialization. This is characterised by the various Partner states involved in the station inviting private companies to participate in station activites. It is likely that initially these activities would be heavily subsidized and that their management will be conducted by several non-governmental organizations. The aim would be to develop commercial activity on the station in the hope that industry and academia would view it as a valuable resource on orbit.
The third stage is privatization. This is distinguished from the second in that the operation of the station is transferred from the NGOs to one entity, possibly a company with registered offices in all the Partner States. Ownership of the station is almost certainly to remain in the hands of the original Partner States but they will lease the station to the new company. The company will, in accordance with the lease, be liable to the Partner States for maintenance and repair of the station but will be allowed, amongst other things, to sublet it, arrange for licences to third parties for conducting commercial activities or even allow tourists to board, take photos and buy souvenirs! :-) In short the new company or authority will operate the station as a going concern for profit. It is likely that the taxpayers in the Partner States would give their approval to this idea. It could be possible for the company operating the station to issue shares for sale in the Partner States.
The final stage is the ultimate evolution towards a human town in space. This will only be possible if the station is greatly expanded from current plans and for all I know (I am only a hardworking lawyer after all) this may not be feasible given the ISS design criteria. But with a bit of brave imagination it is possible to see the operation of the station moving from a dedicated commercial site to taking on characteristics of a human settlement. This might involve individuals staying at the station for prolonged periods as opposed to several months at a time, different areas being assigned to very different activities including leisure and cultural options and the development of an individual station history.
This idealized account of future station development is meant to show that commercialization is a step towards privitization which is a step towards settlement. In this way the station will have served its purpose in opening up the Frontier.
Re: Development of the Station David Anderman (14 Aug 2001 17:25 GMT)
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