President Biden has pledged to support the United States International Station (ISS) through 2030, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Friday.
“The International Space Station is a beacon of peaceful international scientific cooperation and has made tremendous scientific, educational and technological advances for the benefit of mankind over more than 20 years,” Nelson said. He wrote in a statement on the NASA website. “I am pleased that the Biden-Harris administration has committed to continuing to operate the station through 2030.”
Bill Nelson in 2018.
(Reuters/Joe Chipper)
The station’s operations require approval from international partners and funding from Congress, which did not approve the funding until 2024.
2021 review: The best space stories of the year
The past year has proven very interesting for the International Space Station, with several major events that will change the nature of operations for years to come.
The International Space Station photographed by the Expedition 56 crew from the Soyuz spacecraft after it was removed. International Space Station image as of October 4, 2018.
(NASA)
The International Space Station experimented with no one, but two accidental lightning strikes that caused the station to tilt off its axis.
Experts warn of cannibalism among space colonies if food systems fail
The station also saw the first self-driving space tourist in more than a decade, when a Japanese billionaire and his producer visited the International Space Station on December 3.
Spaceflight participant Yusaku Maezawa of Japan glimpses before launch at Russia’s chartered Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021.
(Pavel Kasin, Roscosmos via The Associated Press)
An anti-satellite missile test by Russia in November created a debris field in low Earth orbit endangering the station and posing a risk to space activities for years. It’s called Reuters.
This is why SPACEX ASTRONAUT buys a FORD instead of TESLA
The International Space Station exists as a partnership between the international space agencies of the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Russia).
Interfax reported in August that Russia and the United States had pledged to work together on the International Space Station by last 2024, but no movement occurred until the end of 2021.
CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS APP
“The United States’ continued participation in the International Space Station will enhance innovation and competitiveness, as well as the research and technology needed to send the first woman and first people of color to the moon under NASA’s Artemis program and send the first female human beings,” Nelson said. “As more and more countries are active In space, it is more important than ever that the United States continues to lead the world in growing international alliances and model rules and standards for the peaceful and responsible use of space.”
