NASA says the International Space Station (ISS) will remain in use until 2030 and then crash into the Pacific Ocean in early 2031. The U.S. space agency said in a report a few weeks ago that the ISS would crash into known as a 'Point Nemo' in the Pacific. This is the farthest ocean area on Earth from an island and it is also known as the 'Space Cemetery'. Many ancient satellites and other space debris have crashed into the site, including the Russian space center Mir, which crashed in 2001. NASA also said that in the future, space operations near the Earth will be piloted by the Commerce Division.
The International Space Station (ISS), a joint venture between five space agencies, has been in orbit since 1998 and has had a crew member since 2000. More than 3,000 experiments have been performed at its microgravity laboratory. However, it has only been approved for implementation until 2024. If the active period is extended, it must take place with the consent of all stakeholders. NASA said the plan to retire the ISS marks the transition to the commercialization of activity in Earth's lower orbit - that is, in space closest to Earth. "With the support of NASA, the private sector has the technical and financial capability to develop and activate commercial destinations in Earth orbit," said Phil McAllister, Director of Commercial Aerospace at NASA's Headquarters.
In 2020, NASA awarded a contract to Axiom Space, a space company based in the US state of Texas, to install at least one habitable module for the International Space Station. NASA has also funded three other companies to design layouts for space stations and other commercial destinations that could be located in Earth orbit. These new projects are expected to be at least partially or fully operational before the ISS retires. NASA says it wants to create "America's largest commercial economy in low Earth orbit.
The commercial sector is still an important component of the U.S. space program, and private companies are responsible for transporting the personnel and cargo involved. Russia's Soyuz and Progress spacecraft are also used. According to NASA, the transfer of activity from Earth's lower orbit to the private sector will result in c. $ 1.3 billion could be saved, and that money could be used to explore deep space. After this shift, NASA hopes to make such savings as it will be able to spend money only on the services it needs instead of maintaining and actively maintaining the ISS.
NASA says it analyzes the ISS's budget annually and further clarifies its savings estimates. NASA released the transit report last week after US President Joe Biden's administration announced that it was committed to extending the space center's operations until 2030. However, the extension will require the support of international stakeholders, including Russia, and currently, the US Congress has only approved funding for the ISS until 2024. In an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax in December 2021, Dmitry Rogosin, head of the Russian space program, indicated his willingness to work with NASA beyond 2024. "Action is more than words," he said. "This year we sent a new laboratory module to the ISS. It's been working well for at least 10 years." The head of Roscosmos also accused the US sanctions imposed on Russia of harming the Russian space industry. He has previously stated that Russia will withdraw from the ISS project if the US does not lift sanctions. The United States and its allies in the West have vowed to impose more sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine, but it is not yet clear what the sanctions will be.
Russia has previously said the ISS will not be able to operate beyond 2030 due to structural delays, and warned that the use of outdated equipment could lead to "irreversible" breakdowns.
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