March 4, 2026—With 25 years of experience connecting astronauts and cosmonauts to tens of thousands of kids and adults around the world via amateur radio, ARISS is plotting a course to continue our mission in the government and commercial space realm beyond the targeted decommissioning of the ISS in the 2030 timeframe.
As you know, we’ve already been active in conducting ham radio operations in commercial space ventures including all four Axiom Space flights to the ISS and the Fram2 free-flying mission, and that’s a big hint on where we’ll be focused in the post-ISS era. We’ve identified commercial space stations as a key growth area for ARISS and we’re in conversations with anyone and everyone in this emerging sector about making ham radio an asset for crews.
Artist renderings of Starlab, Axiom Space, Orbital Reef and Vast commercial space stations
Based on publicly available information, there are at least four companies developing or interested in developing commercial space stations: Vast, Axiom Space, Starlab Space and Sierra Space’s Orbital Reef. Vast has stated that it could have its four-person, single-module Haven-1 space station for low-Earth orbit as soon as 2027.
Our offering to commercial space station providers is a proven track record on what ARISS and ham radio bring to the table:
- Space-based amateur radio learning experiences
- A tried-and-true backup method for crew radio communications using proven, spaceflight-certified ARISS hardware
- A psychological support and public engagement outlet for astronauts
- Proven outreach practices: On ISS, ARISS engages more than 40,000 youth and more than 150,000 members of the public each year through 60-100 scheduled radio contacts per year
- A variety of operational radio modes including voice repeater and digital repeater mode for text messaging and educational ground-to-ground station robot commanding, or to activate an image transmission event (Slow Scan Television, or SSTV)
- Flight certified radio antenna systems and feedlines
In addition to our pursuit of commercial ventures, we’re also continuing with full support of ongoing ISS radio contacts and working with NASA to make ARISS a fixture on moon and Mars missions. That includes our partnership with AMSAT to passively track the upcoming Artemis 2 mission around the moon and back.
Stay tuned for more exciting news from ARISS on pursuing future partnerships with the commercial space industry and many other growth areas.
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