NASA: International space station operation extended by Obama until at least 2024

[bananas]

Source: Washington Post

The international space station received a significant political boost Wednesday when the Obama administration vowed to keep the laboratory in orbit at least until 2024, a four-year extension, NASA officials said Wednesday.

The decision is not a shocker, since the alternative for the ISS would be to put it through a controlled de-orbit in six years. That would mean watching the $100 billion, nearly 1-million-pound laboratory — which took 13 years, more than 100 rocket and shuttle launches and 160 spacewalks to construct — crash into the vast open space of the South Pacific.

But the extension is a relief for NASA and those who work with the ISS. It shores up the attractiveness of the space station as a platform for scientific research and commercial operations, which can require many years of planning.

This is also good news for the private launch companies SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp., which already have contracts to supply cargo to the station. SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada are all interested in delivering crews to the station by 2017, and the extension makes that competition for a contract look like a better investment of time and energy.

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Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/nasa-space-station-operation-extended-by-obama-until-2024-at-least/2014/01/08/9819d5c8-788e-11e3-8963-b4b654bcc9b2_story.html

[freshwest]

1. But, but. I thought the Obama meme was he didn't support the space program! n/t

[bananas]

2. Bush was going to cancel the ISS in 2017

The VSE budget required termination the Space Shuttle by 2010 and of any US role in the International Space Station by 2017. This would have required, even in the most optimistic plans, in a period of years without human spaceflight capability from the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_for_Space_Exploration

Bush would have left us with nothing - no ISS, no Space Shuttle, a boondoggle heavy-lift rocket to nowhere that was too expensive to fly more than once every four years and would likely have been cancelled and a lunar base that would never be built.

It's astonishing how badly Bush screwed this country.

And the Republicans in Congress keep cutting Obama's budget requests for NASA, ironically delaying commercial crew development and forcing us to pay millions to Russia to fly our astronauts to the ISS on Soyuz.

[freshwest]

3. Thanks. Paying billions to Russia. Just like Koch daddy made a fortune with Stalin. We need to have

more positive interactions between our two nations, but Bush bankrupted this country and the GOP is still as determined to let it perish.

That we're propping up Russia by paying them to participate in eliminating nukes in the CWC is a good thing. BTW, I was just poking at the oligarchs with the title of this reply. This is a world wide system now, and most of us are not a part of it except as cheering spectators. And maybe we never were more than that.

My problem with the space program which has been cut to enable the commercial programs to take over, is that the knowledge gained becomes proprietary property.

It's why I'm not as enthused about it, no longer feel it will benefit the majority of the world's people, just the elites, and very directly. They will call the shots from their position as the owners of our technology.

It's exactly what Sagan predicted.

Obama has always pushed for higher education being more available, that gives regular citizens a chance at participating. He knows those who achieve scientific degrees and make use of their training, will make the decisions about our future world.

The rest will hide in a past that never was as they imagine and continue to foment rebellion against knowledge.

Thanks for the article and reply.

[blackspade]

4. Until it is replaced I see no reason to abandon it.

Two thumbs up today for Obama from me!
Ararity I know, but credit where credit is due.

[on point]

6. Great news. Plus use space station to build replacement.

I see no reason to destroy it yet

[bananas]

5. Statement by Bolden and Holdren

http://blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2014/01/08/obama-administration-extends-international-space-station-until-at-least-2024/

Obama Administration Extends International Space Station Until at Least 2024
Posted on January 8, 2014 by Administrator Charles Bolden.
Posted by Charles Bolden and John P. Holdren

As more than 30 heads of space agencies from around the world prepare to gather in Washington January 9-10 for an unprecedented summit on the future of space exploration, we are pleased to announce that the Obama Administration has approved an extension of the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2024. We are hopeful and optimistic that our ISS partners will join this extension effort and thus enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this unique orbiting laboratory for at least another decade.

The extension of ISS operation will allow NASA and the international space community to accomplish a number of important goals.

First, it will allow NASA to complete necessary research activities aboard the ISS in support of planned long-duration human missions beyond low-Earth orbit—including our planned human mission to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s. NASA has determined that research on ISS is necessary to mitigate fully 21 of the 32 human-health risks anticipated on long-duration missions. A related critical function of ISS is testing the technologies and spacecraft systems necessary for humans to safely and productively operate in deep space. Extending ISS until 2024 will give us the necessary time to bring these systems to maturity.

Second, ISS extension will extend the broader flow of societal benefits from research on the Station. Research conducted on the ISS has already resulted in a number of discoveries with significant medical and industrial implications. Medical examples include potential vaccines for Salmonella and antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, and a microencapsulation technique for delivering cancer treatment drugs to tumors without affecting healthy cells. Additionally, technologies advanced by the ISS have led to robotic surgical techniques that are opening the door to successful removal of tumors that were previously considered inoperable.

A further benefit of ISS extension is it will give NASA and its private-sector partners time to more fully transition to the commercial space industry the transportation of cargo and crew to low-Earth-orbit, allowing NASA to continue to increase its focus on developing the next-generation heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule necessary for deep-space exploration.

Two American companies are already under contract to resupply the ISS. The current cargo contracts will end in the 2016/2017 timeframe, but the extension of ISS to at least 2024 will allow many more flights to be added to the ISS cargo services contract, resulting in more competitive pricing, possible additional new private-sector bidders, and ultimately more U.S. commercial satellite launches.

Launching American astronauts to the space station from U.S. soil has also been a top priority of the Obama Administration, and we’re making great strides toward certifying private companies to transport our astronauts into orbit. With the first commercial crew flight scheduled for 2017, some had questioned the value of a commercial crew investment that would have lasted only three years. Extending ISS to 2024, with a concomitant increased number of flights, will drive down the per-flight cost and make this investment even more attractive.

The ISS is also playing an increasingly important role in the study ofthe Earth and its changing climate. In the next few years, the ISS will host several Earth- and space-science instruments, including the Stratospheric Aerosols and Gases Experiment (SAGE III), the RapidSCAT ocean winds measurement instrument, the Orbital Carbon Observatory (OCO-3), the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass (CREAM) experiment, the Calorimetric Electron Telescope, and others. Ensuring the stability and availability of the ISS through 2024 will instill confidence in the science community that the ISS platform will be available for important, long-term research endeavors.

Finally, extending the ISS will help cement continuing U.S. leadership in human spaceflight going forward. The ISS is the most complex and challenging engineering endeavor in history. The key to its success has been the combination of NASA ingenuity and international cooperation. With a partnership that includes 15 nations and with 68 nations currently using the ISS in one way or another, this unique orbiting laboratory is a clear demonstration of the benefits to humankind that can be achieved through peaceful global cooperation. It is important to keep this partnership intact, with America as its leader. Leadership in space brings with it economic growth, technological prowess, and national pride, and contributes to American global leadership more broadly.

The ISS is a unique facility that offers enormous scientific and societal benefits. The Obama Administration’s decision to extend its life until at least 2024 will allow us to maximize its potential, deliver critical benefits to our Nation and the world, and maintain American leadership in space.

John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Charles Bolden is Administrator of NASA

This entry was posted in Uncategorized on January 8, 2014 by Administrator Charles Bolden.