The Space Frontier Foundation
congratulated NASA and the Russian Aerospace Agency today for the launch of
the first crew to the International Space Station (ISS), and called for an
international commission to be formed to begin moving the station out of
NASA’s control, and into the private sector.

“We are pleased to see the ISS finally beginning to operate, and congratulate
NASA and RSA for a successful launch,” stated Foundation President Rick
Tumlinson. “Now NASA, as the dominant force in ISS, has the chance to hand
space to the people who paid for it. They need to get out of the building
management business, get back to exploring and facilitate a transfer of the
station to a civic authority for its operations ASAP.”

Based on its history trying to build the facility, which is tens of billions
of dollars over budget and years behind schedule, and its repeated attempts
to stifle or kill what it percieves as competing private sector initiatives,
the Foundation does not believe that NASA is the right organization run ISS.
The group is calling for the formation of a non-biased commercially oriented
International Space Station Authority to take over its day to day operations
as soon as possible. Instead of being a landlord, the Foundation is calling
for the next president to put the space agency back on track as the world’s
premiere exploration team.

“NASA is clueless about how to efficiently and fairly run this facility.
They’re not interested in anything but their own budget, people and
programs.” stated Tumlinson. “Worse, as they have shown with the commercial
Mir station down the orbital street, they will try and destroy or sabotage
any projects that are actually better, cheaper and faster than their own. If
left in charge of ISS, NASA will actually inhibit the opening of space, not
help it.”

The Foundation has long called for NASA to get out of the Near Frontier
around the Earth and get back to exploring. It sees the ISS as an albatross
around NASA’s neck, and wants money the agency saves by privatizing the ISS
and shuttle to go into a vastly expanded program of exploration and science.

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The Space Frontier Foundation is an organization of people dedicated to
opening the Space Frontier to human settlement as rapidly as possible.

Space Frontier Foundation

11350 Ventura Blvd., #100

Studio City, CA 91604

For information on the Foundation, call 1-800-78SPACE

or visit our web site at: http://www.space-frontier.org

Our E-Mail Address is information@space-frontier.org