NASA
On New Year’s Eve, the US Biden administration has instructed NASA to extend the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2030. Until now, it was decided to continue operation until 2024, but after that it was a matter for consideration.
NASA was instructed to consult with partners such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA / ASC), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the Russian state-owned space company Roscosmos for use by 2030. You will get an agreement on the extension.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “I am pleased that the Biden-Harris administration has promised to continue operating the ISS until 2030.” Has brought benefits of education and technological development. ” “The continued participation of the United States on the ISS will bring women and people of color to the Artemis program, as well as innovation and competitiveness for humanity’s first arrival on Mars,” he said.
NASA has been looking for ways to transfer space station operations to private commercial bodies to cover the budget spent on the Artemis program. This extension of operations will also give us time to take over roles such as technological research and commercial activities in low earth orbit from the ISS to the private space station. For example, Axiom Space will launch several modules to be added to the ISS after the latter half of 2024, separate the modules from the ISS at the end of ISS operation, and enter into a contract with NASA to continue operating as a single private space station. It is tied to.
As a plan outside the United States, ESA will support the extension of the operation of the ISS until 2030 earlier than NASA, and JAXA in Japan will also support the experimental building “Kibo” and its related equipment by 2030. We have certified the operation. Russia’s Roscosmos will withdraw from the ISS operation in 2025 and propose to build its own space station, while in 2021 it will install a new multipurpose experimental area “Nauka” and a new docking port “Prichal” on the ISS. I am.
In November 2021, Russia conducted an unwelcome experiment to destroy artificial satellites and throw a large amount of debris into the orbit of the ISS, which is also attended by its own aviators. At the time of the Trump administration, the United States also announced a policy to end ISS support in 2025, and each country’s pace in the safe cooperation system of the ISS has become slightly out of step. Given that, the Biden administration’s decision is likely to be a major boost to the maintenance of peaceful and safe cooperation on the ISS.
Source NASA
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