TASS news agency on March 8 quoted Mr. Ken Bowersox, the official in charge of human flights at the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), saying that the US plans to use a new research facility before the International Space Station (ISS) stops operating in the next 5 years.
"We want to have another station in place so we can continue our work in low Earth orbit," he told reporters, without giving details.
The ISS's Problem: Too Clean?
The information was given when he answered a reporter's question about billionaire Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and currently in charge of the US Government Efficiency Board, about taking the ISS out of orbit and focusing on the mission to explore Mars.
“Right now, we are acting completely within the policy guidance that we have put in place, and that means we fly on the ISS until 2030. That is something that we have negotiated with all of our international partners,” said Bowersox.
International Space Station (ISS) in orbit
The official added that the Russian partner has not yet agreed to extend work at the ISS beyond 2028.
According to him, work in low Earth orbit contributes greatly to humanity's ability to reach the moon and Mars. "I think we're going to see humans continue to operate in low Earth orbit for a long time to come, and I think that will help us accelerate our ability to go to Mars," he said.
Earlier on February 20, billionaire Musk wrote on social network X that "it is time to start preparing" to remove the ISS from orbit because the space station has completed its mission and is rarely used.
The ISS began operating in orbit on November 20, 1998, weighing about 435 tons and can reach 470 tons when combined with spacecraft. The parties involved in the project include Canada, the United States, Russia, Japan and 10 countries of the European Space Agency: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy.
In November 2022, CEO Yury Borisov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said that Russia's continued participation in the project would depend on the technical state of affairs in the Russian region, the date Russia puts its own space station into orbit, and other factors.
So far, Russia has officially announced plans to continue participating in the ISS project until 2028. In early December 2024, Mr. Borisov said that Russia's plan would be coordinated with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nasa-co-tram-khong-giant-moi-thay-the-iss-trong-vong-5-nam-toi-185250308165222341.htm
Comment (0)