ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Commercial Resupply Services

Commercial resupply services are like when you ask someone to go to the store for you because you need some things that you can't get yourself. In space, it's the same idea. NASA has some things they need in space, but they can't send anyone to get them. So they ask private companies, like SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, to bring those things to space for them.

These companies use special spaceships called cargo spacecraft to bring things like food, water, experiments, and replacement parts to NASA's astronauts in space. They launch the spacecraft on a rocket and then it travels to the International Space Station, where the astronauts are waiting for it.

This is really important, because astronauts need these supplies to live and work in space. It's also important for doing experiments and studying space, because scientists can send new equipment and experiments to the space station to learn more about it.

So basically, commercial resupply services are when private companies help NASA by bringing essential supplies to astronauts in space.