NASA Reverts to Original CLD Procurement Plan, Supporting Commercial Space Stations
NASA has decided to revert to its original Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) procurement plan, which supports the development of free-flying commercial space stations as successors to the International Space Station (ISS). This decision comes after significant feedback from the industry, which argued for a sustainable commercial market where NASA would be one of many customers. Previously, NASA had considered altering its strategy to focus on a 'core module' approach, which would involve attaching commercial modules to the ISS. This shift was initially proposed due to concerns about the lack of a robust market in low Earth orbit (LEO) to support standalone commercial stations. However, industry leaders, including Axiom Space, contested NASA's market assessment, citing their successful payload operations as evidence of existing demand. 
