Houston We Have a Podcast Building the International Space Station
Dec 12, 2025
Michael Suffredini, former International Space Station program manager and co-founder of Axiom Space, shares his journey of building the ISS. He dives into the challenges of international collaboration, highlighting how partnerships shaped its success. Suffredini discusses the evolution from bespoke solutions to utilizing commercial products, and reflects on leadership lessons gained during crisis moments, like after the Columbia disaster. He passionately advocates for the future of commercial space, emphasizing the importance of markets in low-Earth orbit.
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From Jets To ISS Program Lead
- Michael Suffredini started at NASA aiming for jets but shifted to space after an orbital dynamics course and joined shuttle operations before moving to ISS roles.
- He built the ISS Research Office, influenced lab design, then moved through vehicle and operations leading to deputy and program manager posts.
Engineers' Shared Language Enabled Integration
- International engineers share common technical language, which made integrating many partners' hardware feasible.
- Political decisions after the Cold War enabled the partnerships that made ISS technically and diplomatically possible.
A Disputed Progress Launch
- Suffredini recounted a disagreement over Russian Progress cargo where NASA couldn't prove a safety risk and thus couldn't block a launch.
- That moment showed how partnership sovereignty sometimes limits unilateral U.S. control over ISS operations.