![A close-up view of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vertical with the Crew Dragon atop for the Crew-3 mission at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during sunrise on Oct. 28, 2021. Also in view is the crew access arm.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SpaceX-Crew-3.jpg?w=1024)
![Boeing's CST-100 Starliner crew ship approaches the International Space Station on the company's Orbital Flight Test-2 mission before automatically docking to the Harmony module's forward port.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Boeing-Starliner.jpg?w=1024)
![Cygnus space freighter in the grips of the Canadarm2 robotic arm](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iss067e160629.jpg?w=1024)
The Low Earth Orbit Economy
The low Earth orbit economy is a new and growing market of private companies providing access to, and services in, space. Customers include NASA, other government agencies, academic and research-based institutions, and other private companies.
Location
Low Earth orbit is 1,200 miles or less above Earth’s atmosphere.
Did you know?
51 humans have flown on commercial vehicles to low Earth orbit.
DID YOU KNOW?
2020 was the year of the first crewed flight on a commercial vehicle to the space station.
in the future
NASA is currently funding three companies to develop commercial space stations.
About
What is the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Economy?
One of NASA's strategic goals is to “develop a human spaceflight economy enabled by a commercial market.”
![The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the space station](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iss067e188939.jpg?w=1041)
Ride to the Moon?
Human Landing Systems
Bringing astronauts from orbit around the Moon onto lunar soil
NASA’s commercial providers, Blue Origin and SpaceX, are building the human landing systems that will carry Artemis astronauts to the lunar surface and back to lunar orbit for their ride home to Earth aboard Orion.
Commercial Human Landers about Human Landing Systems![Side-by-side illustrations of the SpaceX Starship lunar lander and the Blue Origin Blue Moon lunar lander. Each is on the lunar surface, with astronauts nearby and Earth in the distance.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/starship-bluemoon.png?w=1536)
How NASA’s Work Led to Commercial Spaceflight Revolution
For more than 60 years, NASA has pushed the boundaries of human exploration for the benefit of all, and now…
Read the Story![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/web_article.jpg?w=985)
FAQs
Commercial Space Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do you have questions? We have answers!
Learn more about low Earth orbit, legal, private astronaut missions, and commercial low Earth orbit partnerships through answers to a variety of frequently asked questions.
View FAQs about Commercial Space Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)![A view of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter with the Earth's atmospheric golden glow in the foreground at night was taken from the space station.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/iss044e020824.jpg?w=1041)
![This view of the north polar region of the Moon was obtained by NASA Galileo camera during the spacecraft flyby of the Earth-Moon system on December 7 and 8, 1992.](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA00126/PIA00126~orig.jpg?w=876&h=879&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
![Artist rendition of a vehicle in space using propulsion.](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/50356331258-85dc0fdee6-o.jpg?w=1024)
![Illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the surface of the Moon](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/viper_cdr_hero_08_lrg_1.jpeg?w=1024)
The Lunar Economy
NASA is leading Artemis, humanity’s return to the Moon. With international partners and U.S. industry providers, the future at the Moon holds promise for a robust lunar marketplace.
Location
Earth’s Moon
Formed
4.5 billion years ago
DISTANCE
250,000 miles from Earth
About
Commercial Lunar Payload Services
NASA is working with several American companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative.
These companies, ranging in size, bid on delivering payloads for NASA. This includes everything from payload integration and operations, to launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon. Under Artemis, commercial deliveries beginning in 2023 will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon as it prepares for human missions.
Commercial Lunar Payload Services about Commercial Lunar Payload Services![Image of the Moon's surface taken by Lunar Orbiter 3](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/lunar-orbiter-3-image-catalog.jpg?w=1288)
What Is a Spacesuit?
A spacesuit is much more than a set of clothes astronauts wear on spacewalks. A fully equipped spacesuit is really…
Read the Story![](https://images-assets.nasa.gov/image/iss054e022341/iss054e022341~large.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&fit=clip&crop=faces%2Cfocalpoint)
Commercial Space News
Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.
![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/spacex_crew_dragon_0.jpg?w=300)
Technological innovations make headlines every day, and NASA’s In Space Production Applications (InSPA) Portfolio of awards are driving these innovations…
![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/s116e07153.jpg?w=300)
Leadership from NASA’s International Space Station and Commercial Crew Programs, as well as Boeing, will participate in a media teleconference…
![](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/nasa_meatball_1.jpg?w=300)
NASA is fostering continued scientific, educational, and technological developments in low Earth orbit to benefit humanity, while also supporting deep…