LOS ANGELES - NASA says it plans to extend operations of the International Space Station until 2030 after which it plans to retire the station and crash it into a remote region of the Pacific Ocean commonly known as Point Nemo. "The International Space Station is a unique laboratory that is returning enormous scientific, educational, and technological developments to benefit people on Earth and is enabling our ability to travel into deep space.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to extend space station operations until 2030 will enable the United States to continue to reap these benefits for the next decade while U.S.
industry develops commercial destinations and markets for a thriving space economy," NASA wrote in a statement on Jan. 31.The space station, which has served as a hub for research and technological development since it was launched in 2000, has housed more than 200 astronauts from 19 different countries.NASA says the empty space will be taken over by the private sector.
Commercially operated space platforms are expected to replace the ISS."The private sector is technically and financially capable of developing and operating commercial low-Earth orbit destinations, with NASA's assistance.