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US Congress postpones decommissioning of ISS from 2030 to 2032, and directs NASA to build a permanent Moon base (www.theregister.com)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/space@mander.xyz
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The NASA Authorization Act of 2026 has been approved, and alongside a directive for NASA to establish a permanent Moon base, the legislation includes language extending the International Space Station to 2032.

The ISS project was set to end in 2030. In 2024, NASA awarded a contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX to build a tug to de-orbit the outpost by 2030, assuming it lasts that long. By then the complex's first module will have been in orbit for more than 30 years, and cracks have plagued the structure alongside hardware failures as the laboratory ages. One space agency insider observed that "it's on its last legs."

Then again, in a 2024 interview with The Register, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen said of the ISS: "I wouldn't be surprised if we extended it a few years."

NASA is to begin soliciting proposals for two commercial space stations immediately (Axiom Space and Vast spring to mind), but, mindful of a potential gap, lawmakers have also directed the agency to keep the ISS running for a few more years – certainly until at least one commercial station is launched and capable of taking over ISS operations.

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[–] 1 point 8 months ago

They used the biggest modules they could fit in a Shuttle. Or fit in a rocket fairing if they could fly themselves. That meant being stuck with 4.5m wide cans. The old Salyut stations were single modules, then MIR was a big modular one to get more space, crew, power, equipment, etc, and ISS is the evolution of that idea.

Skylab was a huge volume because they used a Saturn upper stage. Some new stations will have bigger single modules, like Orbital Reef and Voyager, because of the bigger fairing sizes on Starship and New Glenn. Inflatables are a little annoying to build out inside and they still need some dev work, so a lot of the next gen stations are big cans that might have some inflatable modules on the sides.

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