NASA przywiązuje wagę do niewystąpienia luki między zatopieniem ISS, a pojawieniem się nowej stacji, dlatego proponuje się, by komercyjne zaczątki nowej stacji pojawiły się już w 2028, by dwie stacje mogły funkcjonować do 2030.
Na razie pozostaje element niepewności związany z przeciekaniem rosyjskiego elementu ISS.
Rosną koszty podtrzymywania ISS w stanie sprawności.
Przerwa w dostępie ludzi do orbity może też zachwiać podstawami rodzących się komercyjnych badań na LEO.
Consequently, a substantial gap between the Station’s retirement and the introduction of a new, commercial destination in low Earth orbit would force NASA to accept a higher level of health risk or delay start dates for long-duration, deep space human exploration missions.
Given the Station’s inevitable retirement and NASA’s continuing need for low Earth orbit research, the success of the Agency’s Plan for Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development is crucial to avoid a gap in low Earth orbit access. NASA’s plan to close that gap is for one or more commercial low Earth orbit destinations to be operational by 2028, which would allow a two-year overlap with the ISS before its anticipated retirement in 2030. The Agency’s Plan for Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development, published in 2019, identifies five steps in the near-term and also outlines mid- and long-term objectives. We found that the Agency’s near-term actions show promise, with NASA’s recent efforts resulting in market interest and growth, especially for private astronaut missions. However, NASA faces significant challenges with fully executing the plan in time to meet its 2028 goal and avoid a gap in availability of a low Earth orbit destination. Challenges of commercialization include limited market demand, inadequate funding, unreliable cost estimates, and still-evolving requirements. The risk of deep space human exploration missions will increase significantly if NASA is not able to conduct the required microgravity health research and technology demonstrations on a habitable space destination in low Earth orbit. Furthermore, without a destination the nascent low Earth orbit commercial space economy would likely collapse, causing cascading impacts to commercial space transportation capabilities, in-space manufacturing, and microgravity research.
In order to mitigate risks to the Station’s structural integrity, we recommended that the Associate Administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate ensure the risks associated with cracks and leaks in the Service Module Transfer Tunnel are identified and mitigated prior to agreeing to an ISS life extension.
https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-22-005.pdf
Wątek: ISS - Międzynarodowa Stacja Kosmiczna (2021) (Przeczytany 97885 razy)