Instead, it is looking to the private sector to develop next-generation habitats that would be owned and operated by the companies, not NASA. After investing billions of dollars into the ISS, NASA cannot afford to build another space station in Earth orbit, especially as it is embarking on an effort to return humans to the moon, under a program called Artemis. But the space agency won’t be building it. Knowing that day may soon come, NASA is racing to find its successor. At some point, it will reach the end of its life, and NASA and its partners will be forced to coordinate its demise by deorbiting it to Earth and crashing it into the ocean. So do the bits of micrometeorite debris that the space station dodges a few times a year and occasionally gets hit. The extreme hot and cold temperatures take their toll. Despite its incredible durability, it cannot survive in the harsh vacuum of space forever.
In recent years, it has sprung a series of leaks and has been rattled by errant thruster firings that have sent it spinning wildly. And late last year, the White House backed NASA’s plan to keep the ISS operating to 2030.īut it’s not clear that that the station will last that long.
At the very least, they think the life of the ISS should be extended. The program has been such a profound tool of diplomacy, as well as science and engineering, that many in the space community think it should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. To build the ISS, the United States and Russia combined forces with Canada, Japan and the European Union. A total of 19 countries have sent astronauts there, binding them into an international consortium that has transcended politics and the geopolitical tensions that have roiled relationships on Earth. Instead of designing another avant-garde piece of furniture, or a luxury yacht or a gleaming hotel, the French architect and designer is working on the interior of a commercial space station that NASA hopes one day would replace the International Space Station.įor more than 20 years, the ISS has served as a continuously inhabited foothold in low Earth orbit, a way for space agencies around the world to study how humans live off the Earth for extended periods. The best features would, of course, be the windows, generously large for expansive views of the Earth below and the universe beyond because star gazing is at the center of Philippe Starck’s latest creation.
The vibe would be cozy and modern, intended to “create a nest,” its designer says: “A comfortable and friendly egg, which would feature materials and colors stemmed from a fetal universe.” The walls would be plush, like a Las Vegas lounge, speckled with hundreds of small LED lights programmed to change color. Careers, Fellowships, and Internships Open/Close.
Science and Technology Innovation Program.The Middle East and North Africa Workforce Development Initiative.Kissinger Institute on China and the United States.Nuclear Proliferation International History Project.North Korea International Documentation Project.Environmental Change and Security Program.Hyundai Motor-Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy.