In 1998, the International Space Station (ISS) launched to become humanity’s peak beyond Earth, towards space. For over two decades, the ISS has served as a habitat where more than 300 people from 26 different countries have explored space in orbit. After years of serving international collaborations, NASA is announcing new developments of space cities within the agency.
Orbiting through space for the past twenty-five years
The International Space Station (ISS) is an enormous station assembled in space. It was designed to maintain a low orbit around Earth and is maintained by five space agencies, including NASA from the USA. There is Roscosmos from Russia, ESA from Europe, JAXA from Japan, and CSA from Canada.
The ISS is infamous as the largest space station ever constructed, serving both as a hub for scientific experiments and a medium for exploring space. The station has two divisions: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS), maintained by Roscosmos, and the US Orbital Segment (USOS), maintained by NASA, ESA, CSA, and JAXA.
Recently, the ISS has announced plans to be decommissioned by 2030 into the Pacific Ocean. This would mark the end of an originally expected 15-year lifespan. But the story doesn’t end here; this is just the beginning. The station has announced plans to expand and launch space cities for both collaboration and commercialization.
The ISS welcomes a new frontier beyond Earth
According to CNN and WION, the ISS has announced plans to accommodate habitats in space. Crazy right? This new expansion is said to become not just a hub for science and space exploration, but also a tourist attraction, as well as various space cities.
There are many reasons for this new development, but the most prominent is maintenance cost. The high maintenance cost has been impossible to meet in the past couple of years, therefore forcing NASA to look towards privatization.
Many countries and private contractors have started listing against 2030, just like this futuristic breakthrough powering the entire planet. From the US, a promising competitor is Vast Space. The company has begun developing Haven-1, proposed to become the world’s first commercial space cities station.
The leading competitor in China is the Tiangong Space Station. This was an ongoing construction, and it already operates in orbit. The station has been proposed to become a permanent home and space cities for multiple international researchers. Over in India, the country has made plans to launch its constructed design by 2025.
Deign as an important factor going forward
In this new development, NASA has announced plans to expand the designs of stations. The plan is to go beyond laboratories and build ecosystems. The private companies planning to collaborate would design space cities with sustainable environments where people could actually live, even have areas for microgravity agriculture.
NASA’s plan to commercialize the International Space Station
When the ISS finally concludes its operation, the next move is collaboration and commercialization. According to NASA’s Commercial LEO Destination program, space would no longer be just for exploration but for infrastructure. Collaborating with private companies would mean these companies can own and operate their stations in the space cities with leases from NASA.
A fraction of this move has been questioned as to how contracts would be awarded. If it were not for the highest bidders, or if the pursuit for scientific exploration were still to remain. The more recurring question is whether countries would peacefully coexist in space. The ISS has already established a framework that would maintain its peace and vision.
Up until the ISS commences descent in 2030, NASA and the government have continued to resolve pending research. Also, private companies have continued to construct their stations to the specifications requested by NASA. In the long run, just as NASA reignites 2025 space race, may the best men win.
Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind.