China's plans for a space station are starting to sound familiar.
The chief designer of the country's human spaceflight program confirmed to China Central Television this week that once the space station is running at full capacity, the agency will encourage the private sector.
There are many possibilities, Zhou continued.
Sound familiar? That is exactly what NASA has been doing for the past few years.
SpaceNews notes that this is the first confirmation that China will open the Tiangong station to commercial players after the country's spaceflight program asked the private industry to come up with cheaper ways of launching cargo to its brand new orbital outpost.
The construction of the station is expected to be finished this year, with six launches planned to add two new science modules.
Zhou said in his TV address that commercial involvement in space has been on everyone's mind.
The announcement is similar to NASA's plan for the commercialization of the International Space Station.
NASA asked a dozen spaceflight companies, including Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Boeing, how they would create and be part of a robust low-Earth orbit economy without government funding.
Most of the companies included pitches about space tourism and in-habitat experiences that included marketing, entertainment, scientific research, and manufacturing in space.
China is interested in the scientific potential for the commercialization of Tiangong and is inviting international scientists and organizations to make use of its station as well.
Zhou told China Central Television that theCMSA is active in promoting openness for China's space lab and that it is open for domestic and international scientists and engineers.
The International Space Station's days are almost certainly numbered, so this is a pivotal moment. As China opens its doors to the international community, the Tiangong station has a chance of becoming the defacto place for both scientific research and business.
China looks to have foreign astronauts on its space station some day.
China's New Space Station looks like an Apple Store inside.
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