The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will make every effort to ensure that the International Space Station (ISS) continues to operate at least until 2030, Joel Montalbano, head of the US ISS program, said on December 20.
"Our goal is to continue using the ISS. <...> Now the station is working at full capacity, and we [NASA], including myself personally, as well as our partners, will do everything possible to make it work until 2030," Montalbano quotes TASS.
As he noted, each of NASA's international partners must coordinate "with its government" a decision on the future fate of the space station.
The fact that NASA management expects to extend the operation of the ISS for at least 10 years was also stated by the head of the NASA manned flight program, Kathy Luders, on September 13 during the international Gagarin Conference.
In April, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov noted that the deterioration of the ISS could have serious consequences, up to a catastrophe. He noted that Russia is able to independently finance the project of a new orbital station, but is ready to invite foreign partners to cooperate.
