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Teh One Who Knocks
02-12-2018, 11:33 AM
By Samuel Chamberlain | Fox News


https://i.imgur.com/3yibCMZ.jpg

The White House will announce plans to stop funding the International Space Station after 2024 when it unveils its proposed budget Monday, Fox News has confirmed.

A senior NASA official told Fox News that the agency is working on a transition plan that would allow the station, known as the ISS, to be operated by a commercial concern.

The administration's plan for the ISS was first reported by The Washington Post.

The Post reported that the White House will request $150 million from Congress for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 in order to "to enable the development and maturation of commercial entities and capabilities which will ensure that commercial successors to the ISS —potentially including elements of the ISS — are operational when they are needed."

The plan does not elaborate on which companies might be interested in the station or how the station might be used in the future.

All or part of the ISS has been in low Earth orbit since 1998 and the station has been continuously inhabited since 2000. There are six astronauts currently aboard the ISS — two Russians, three Americans and one from Japan.

The ISS, which functions as a kind of floating laboratory, is operated currently by Boeing on behalf of NASA at a cost of between $3 billion and $4 billion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

DemonGeminiX
02-12-2018, 11:58 AM
I'm not so sure about this one...

redred
02-12-2018, 12:51 PM
what if the other partners say you can't ?

Muddy
02-12-2018, 12:53 PM
I think he's trying to remove government involvement.

Teh One Who Knocks
02-12-2018, 01:46 PM
I'm not so sure about this one...

Why not? Unfortunately, space exploration and scientific discovery is going to have to be done commercially in partnership with things like NASA and the ESA.


what if the other partners say you can't ?

Why wouldn't they? Look what SpaceX just did last week. And they did it at a fraction of the cost that it would cost NASA and the ESA combined. Plus, the Falcon Heavy is partially reusable. Government spending on things, even worthwhile things like space travel and exploration come at a huge bloated cost. So long as NASA and the ESA (and whoever else is involved) sit down with prospective companies (like a SpaceX) and agree on the vision, why not let commercial entities take over? They will do it faster and cheaper than any government can.

SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy rocket last week, meanwhile, NASA is still working on their SLS (Space Launch System rocket) which so far has cost nearly $12 billion and its first (still scheduled) launch isn't until December of 2019.

lost in melb.
02-12-2018, 03:12 PM
I'm not so sure about this one...

I agree. I'm not sure what your reasoning is? I am thinking along national security lines...keep some stuff for gov.

redred
02-12-2018, 03:23 PM
Not sure you can have national security when it's shared with Europe Russia and China:lol:

lost in melb.
02-12-2018, 03:35 PM
Not sure you can have national security when it's shared with Europe Russia and China:lol:

You know what I mean :slap: :razz:

Teh One Who Knocks
02-12-2018, 03:53 PM
Not sure you can have national security when it's shared with Europe Russia and China:lol:

"Hey, Dimitri, why are you taking apart that computer console in the ESA section?" :-s


:lol: