NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet
The Biden administration has dedicated to extending International Space Stations operations via 2030, mentioned NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on Friday.
“The International Space Station is a beacon of peaceable worldwide scientific collaboration and for greater than 20 years has returned monumental scientific, academic, and technological developments to profit humanity,” mentioned Nelson in a launch. “I’m happy that the Biden-Harris Administration has dedicated to persevering with station operations via 2030.”
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The extension comes as NASA is already planning to transition from the ISS to business area stations and different non-public platforms in low Earth orbit. Earlier in December, NASA awarded greater than $400 million to 3 corporations — Blue Origin, Nanoracks and Northrop Grumman — to develop designs for area stations and different “business locations” in area. NASA has mentioned the transition away from the ISS will enable it to save cash and give attention to its Artemis missions to the moon and Mars.
The ISS was beforehand accredited to function via 2024, although NASA had reportedly mentioned it was cleared, from a technical standpoint, to fly via 2028 and past.
Extending operations via 2030 will assist NASA “allow a seamless transition of capabilities in low-Earth orbit to a number of commercially owned and operated locations within the late 2020s,” the area company mentioned in a launch.