You are not logged in.
- Topics: Active | Unanswered
Announcement
#751 2026-03-07 15:38:39
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 30,769
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
NASA must delay deorbiting the ISS, U.S. lawmakers say
U.S. lawmakers are moving to delay the International Space Station’s retirement, giving more time for commercial replacements to be built
Meghan Bartels
Fri, March 6, 2026 at 1:37 PM EST
NASA could soon be scrambling to shore up the U.S.’s presence in low-Earth orbit, thanks to a key Senate committee that wants the space agency to extend the life of the International Space Station (ISS) past its current retirement date. If made law, the move would have international consequences for human space exploration.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has added a draft measure to the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 that would order the space agency to extend ISS operations through 2032, two years longer than currently planned. The draft measure also forbids NASA from deorbiting the station until a replacement commercial space station is operational.
Perhaps the most ugly truth of human spaceflight is that the ISS is old and its days are numbered. Construction began in 1998, and humans have maintained a continuous presence on the orbiting outpost since November 2000. But space is a harsh environment, and the longer the massive station remains in orbit, the higher the chances are that a catastrophic failure could send it tumbling down to Earth.
Right now NASA and its international partners hope to keep the ISS working through 2030. (The station was built such that it requires both NASA and the Russian space agency’s full attentions; neither side can operate it alone.)
Then the station will die: SpaceX is building a beefed-up version of its Dragon vehicle to safely destroy the ISS in 2031. NASA hired SpaceX for the task in June 2024 on a contract worth up to $843 million—a remarkably tight time line to design and build a specialized vehicle for an operation that must proceed flawlessly or risk raining debris on Earth’s surface.
At the same time, NASA has also been working to support private companies to develop new orbital outposts that it could use to house astronauts and their research in low-Earth orbit. NASA worked with the now defunct company Bigelow Aerospace to test an inflatable module, for example, and the agency has hired Axiom Space to build what will initially be a module for the ISS but will subsequently undock and fly independently as the seed of a new station.
Yet just as NASA has repeatedly delayed the ISS’s retirement—the station was built to last 15 years—so, too, have the time lines for would-be commercial replacements slipped.
The Senate committee—and particularly its leaders, Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State—are trying to speed things along via the authorization bill. Congress is meant to approve an annual authorization bill to set NASA’s priorities and an appropriations bill that allocates money, but the former is often neglected; the most recent finalized NASA authorization bill dates to 2022. And like all bills, the proposed measure must be approved by the full Senate and House of Representatives and then signed by the president to become law.
But even if the measure never becomes law, it’s an important signal of how key legislators think about NASA’s purpose and priorities. The language is stark. It sets an aggressive time line for making real progress on establishing commercial space stations: under the bill, NASA would need to release requirements for such stations within 60 days and final language to solicit proposals within 90 days and would have to enter contracts with two or more companies within 180 days. And the bill explicitly links the space station’s retirement schedule with the successful operation of a commercial replacement by forbidding a controlled deorbit until that time.
NASA and U.S. legislators alike have long worried that the inevitable demise of the ISS—whether controlled or not—could leave the country with no capacity for long-duration human spaceflight. Currently, the only other existing space station is China’s Tiangong station, which launched in 2021. Ultimately, it doesn’t seem like the U.S. is ready to give up on the ISS just yet.
Offline
Like button can go here
#752 2026-03-07 18:57:30
- GW Johnson
- Member
- From: McGregor, Texas USA
- Registered: 2011-12-04
- Posts: 6,234
- Website
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
The thing is wearing out. The Zvevda module cracks and leaks are only one example. Sooner or later there will be a catastrophic failure in some module, causing a fast depressurization, and death of the crew. The longer this thing's mission is extended, the more likely such a fatal event is likely to occur. Simple as that!
The problem here is NOT how long the ISS can fly, it is that replacements for it have been delayed too long already. Corporate business is OK with that delay, greedy as they are; the problem has been inadequate government setting of goals for that corporate business arena by letting appropriate contracts. And that is mostly Congress's fault, but substantially partly the administration's fault, across multiple administrations.
GW
Last edited by GW Johnson (2026-03-07 18:57:42)
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
#753 2026-03-07 19:15:08
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 30,769
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
The original maker is no longer in business and all tooling is gone to make replacements.
So we are left to disposal at some point. Even the Halo stuff for the moon is basically junk as its not being done correctly by the clowns....
Offline
Like button can go here
#754 2026-05-22 09:22:01
- GW Johnson
- Member
- From: McGregor, Texas USA
- Registered: 2011-12-04
- Posts: 6,234
- Website
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
From AIAA's "Daily Launch" email newsletter for Friday 22 May 2026:
Ars Technica
Uh-oh, the International Space Station is leaking again
NASA confirmed Thursday that the Russian segment of the International Space Station has begun leaking atmosphere into space again. It’s an old problem that NASA recently hoped was resolved. For more than half a decade, engineers from Roscosmos and NASA have been tracking the leak rate from a small Russian module attached to the space station that leads to a docking port.
-----
My take on it:
I looked at the article linked by the newsletter headline. For the first time, I saw "microscopic structural cracks" that are hard to detect and treat, listed as the cause of the leaks. That is very, very suggestive of fatigue cracks in the wall of the transfer tunnel inside the Zvezda module. That would seem to indicate the module is already well past its fatigue life. The risk is sudden explosive decompression, without any advance warning (the leaks have been the advance warning!). The "fix" has been keeping the hatch to the module closed, unless it is being used. But if that decompression occurs while the hatch is open, the whole station decompresses suddenly, and all aboard die.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
#755 2026-06-05 10:38:38
- GW Johnson
- Member
- From: McGregor, Texas USA
- Registered: 2011-12-04
- Posts: 6,234
- Website
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
From CBS News/Space:
Space
Space station crew briefly moves to "safe haven" amid new concerns over leak
By Miles Doran, Alex Sundby
Updated on: June 5, 2026 / 11:45 AM EDT / CBS News
Out of an abundance of caution, NASA on Friday briefly directed five of the seven crew members aboard the International Space Station to wait inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft — known as a "safe haven" — amid new concerns over some cracks in a transfer tunnel in the Russian module.
NASA then told the crew members they were comfortable with backing out of the safe haven configuration and returning to normal operations after the Russian space agency Roscosmos paused repair efforts and decided to take measurements and assess data.
"We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks," NASA said in a statement.
The cracks have been the source of a small air leak that has persisted on and off for the last six years or so. The leak is considered a top safety risk. There have been several attempts over the years to repair the cracks.
"The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely," the agency said.
Friday's effort comes after Roscosmos noticed a slow pressure drop in the transfer tunnel last month following the arrival of a Russian cargo ship.
NASA said it and Roscosmos have been trying to determine the cause of the cracks while the Russian space agency addresses the issue through "operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts."
After new leaks appeared, NASA initially said Roscosmos decided to move forward with a more extensive repair operation Friday before the Russians decided only to perform measurements.
"We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution," NASA said.
-----
my take on it:
They were alarmed enough over opening the hatch to enter the module that 5 of the 7 aboard took shelter in the capsule. 2 went into the module to do some sort of job that may have gotten changed.
All I can offer is this: the sooner this worn-out facility is replaced, the safer the crews will be. Replace it with one in a low-inclination orbit to support going to the Moon and elsewhere.
GW
GW Johnson
McGregor, Texas
"There is nothing as expensive as a dead crew, especially one dead from a bad management decision"
Offline
Like button can go here
#756 2026-06-06 16:55:41
- SpaceNut
- Administrator
- From: New Hampshire
- Registered: 2004-07-22
- Posts: 30,769
Re: International Space Station (ISS / Alpha)
The four astronauts of the Crew-12 mission—two Americans, one French astronaut, and one Russian cosmonaut—received evacuation orders at 9:04 a.m. ET on June 3, 2026
Astronauts aboard the ISS are sheltering in their spacecraft as a Russian crew works to repair a worsening air leak in the Zvezda module. The air leak in the Zvezda module has been a recurring issue since September 2019, originating in the PrK vestibule, which connects a docking port to the Russian module.
NASA has ordered astronauts on the ISS to shelter in their docked Crew Dragon spacecraft and don spacesuits as a precautionary measure for potential evacuation due to a worsening air leak in the Russian segment of the station, specifically the PrK transfer tunnel of the Zvezda service module.
The leak rate has increased from about one pound of air per day to two pounds per day, prompting NASA to elevate the situation to a high-risk level.
Astronauts return to ISS after sheltering during air leak repair attempt
Offline
Like button can go here