And SHOULD the ISS be decommissioned, or might the mission lifetime be extended?
Construction of the International Space Station (ISS), started in 1998, was completed in 2011.
Since that time, the ISS has housed travelers in space from 19 countries.
We expect to expand the space station as a government project all the way to 2030.
And we hope it will be followed by commercial stations, Nelson stated.
Such an agreement would need the approval of Canada, Russia, Europe, andJapan.
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Their egg-shaped modules are designed to provide a 360-degree view of space, and the Earth turning far below.
An artist concept of the Axiom station deployed on the International Space Station.
Image credit: Axiom SpaceSierra Space also has its own design for long-term habitation in low-Earth orbit.
Sierra Spaces space station leverages its transportation and destination technologies including the Dream Chaser space-plane and LIFE Habitat.
During his talk, Nelson called out for cooperation with China building the future of space stations.
Much of the fuel needed to carry out this task comes from leftover resupply ships launched from Earth.
The space station is also under constant threat from micrometeorites and space debris.
Eventually, the laws of probability state the ISS will one day suffer catastrophic damage from such an impact.
The safest option is a planned re-entry over the sparsely-populated South Pacific.
One challenge facing those planning to eventually de-orbit the ISS is that it is big really big.
Nearly 100 meters long, the facility offers living space as large as a six-story house.
This article was originally published onThe Cosmic Companionby James Maynard, the founder and publisher of The Cosmic Companion.
you might read the original articlehere.
