NASA must delay deorbiting the ISS, U.S. lawmakers say

"The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has added a draft measure to the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 that would order the space agency to extend ISS operations through 2032, two years longer than currently planned. The draft measure also forbids NASA from deorbiting the station until a replacement commercial space station is operational."

"Construction began in 1998, and humans have maintained a continuous presence on the orbiting outpost since November 2000. But space is a harsh environment, and the longer the massive station remains in orbit, the higher the chances are that a catastrophic failure could send it tumbling down to Earth."

"Right now NASA and its international partners hope to keep the ISS working through 2030. The station was built such that it requires both NASA and the Russian space agency's full attentions; neither side can operate it alone. Then the station will die: SpaceX is building a beefed-up version of its Dragon vehicle to safely destroy the ISS in 2031."

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has proposed extending International Space Station operations through 2032, two years beyond the current 2030 retirement plan. The measure would also prohibit NASA from deorbiting the station until a replacement commercial space station is operational. The ISS, constructed beginning in 1998 with continuous human presence since 2000, faces aging challenges in the harsh space environment. Currently, NASA and international partners, including Russia, jointly operate the station, with neither able to operate independently. SpaceX was contracted in June 2024 for up to $843 million to design and execute a controlled deorbiting operation originally scheduled for 2031.

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