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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →The International Space Station still serves as a laboratory, a test bed for exploration technology and a platform for international cooperation. But keeping it useful is not the same as keeping it safe and affordable indefinitely. NASA’s intended path is to move toward commercial stations after the ISS, with retirement and deorbit targeted for 2030–2031. As of May 2026, however, the transition plan was still in flux: NASA was considering whether to extend ISS operations, and the timing and capacity of commercial replacements were not assured.
Why NASA still uses the ISS
NASA’s case for maintaining access to low Earth orbit is broader than any single experiment. In its 2025 Low Earth Orbit Microgravity Strategy and its ISS materials, the agency identifies research, technology development, preparation for exploration, continuous human presence and international cooperation as reasons to use the station and the orbit around it.
Research in microgravity
The ISS supports work in human physiology, radiation, materials science, engineering, biology and fluid physics. Microgravity lets researchers investigate how physical and biological systems behave when gravity’s influence is greatly reduced. NASA says findings can inform future exploration and other research; that rationale should not be mistaken for proof that every station experiment produces an immediate practical benefit on Earth.
Preparing people and systems for exploration
NASA describes low Earth orbit as a place to study the demands of long-duration human spaceflight and test technologies and operations before missions farther from Earth. A continuously crewed station offers experience with research, maintenance and living in space. That experience is relevant to exploration planning, although it does not by itself establish that the ISS is the only way to acquire those capabilities.
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International cooperation and access to orbit
The ISS is also a multinational program. In its 2024 audit, NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that Roscosmos had committed to the station through 2028 and the other partners through 2030. Those are dated commitments, not assurances about participation after those years. Moving to a new platform therefore involves partner continuity as well as science and hardware.
What the aging station makes harder
NASA OIG’s September 26, 2024 audit examined NASA’s management of risks through the planned end of ISS operations and a controlled deorbit beginning in 2031. It described a station that the program was positioned to operate and maintain through 2030, but with significant work and risks—not one that can simply be left in place without continued attention.
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Repairs, leaks and parts supply
The audit identified aging infrastructure, including cracks and air leaks in the Russian Service Module Transfer Tunnel, alongside ongoing repairs and upgrades. It also warned that some spare parts could become harder to obtain as suppliers scale down or stop production. Extending operations would intensify these long-standing maintenance and supply challenges.
The same audit offers a useful counterpoint to the idea that the station is simply failing: as of July 2023, more than 95 percent of 619 on-orbit parts and hardware had operational mean-time-between-failure metrics at or above their original predictions. About 588 were operating beyond their planned lifetimes. The program used those data in spare-parts planning. This is a dated reliability measure, not a guarantee of future performance or proof that structural and supply risks are resolved.
Transport and safe retirement
NASA OIG also highlighted vulnerability from limited redundancy in crew and cargo transportation. A disruption to transport options can affect access to the station and the ability to support its operations. The audit further described the work needed for a controlled deorbit; retirement is an engineered operation, not simply a decision to stop flying crews there.
The cost depends on what is being counted
NASA OIG estimated that ISS operations and research cost approximately $4.1 billion annually—about 16 percent of NASA’s budgets in each of FY2023 and FY2024. That is the audit’s figure for operations and research, tied to those fiscal years. Separately, the OIG put system operations and maintenance at approximately $1 billion per year from FY2019 through FY2023. The latter is a narrower cost category and should not be substituted for the broader operations-and-research estimate.
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What NASA plans after the ISS
NASA’s intended model is to buy services from commercially owned and operated stations, serving NASA and other customers, rather than own and operate a successor station in the same way. NASA’s program materials identify Axiom Space, Blue Origin and Starlab Space among commercial station development efforts. NASA’s 2025 strategy sets out 13 goals and 44 objectives across seven areas, following a review of more than 1,800 comments and two workshops. These are planning priorities and development efforts; they do not demonstrate that replacement capacity will be available on a particular date.
The 2030 target is not a guaranteed handoff
In its 2026 assessment, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said NASA’s transition plan was in flux as of May 2026. A 2030 target for ISS retirement and deorbit initiation existed alongside consideration of whether to extend station operations. GAO also reported that industry had asked about a government-owned Core Module that could attach to the ISS or operate independently. That alternative was under consideration; it was not a settled replacement decision.
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GAO reported that NASA anticipated approximately $1 billion to $1.5 billion over FY2026–FY2031 for commercial-station agreements or contracts. In March 2026, officials said that amount might be sufficient to support only one station. This was a dated planning estimate, not a final award, a confirmed budget outcome or a guarantee that one station would be ready on schedule.
NASA’s strategy emphasizes continuous human presence and a diversity of providers. Those aims depend on commercial services being available in time and at sufficient capacity. Development agreements and plans are steps toward that goal, not evidence that a seamless transfer from the ISS will occur.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to judge whether keeping the ISS is worth it
The choice is not simply between keeping the station forever and retiring it on schedule. It is whether the remaining value of the ISS justifies its cost and risks for as long as needed to make a credible transition. The main considerations are:
- Research and exploration needs: Which work requires crewed access to low Earth orbit, and what can be sustained on the ISS or other platforms?
- Safety and maintenance: What risks can be managed through repairs and upgrades, and how would an extension affect the burden of aging infrastructure?
- Full, clearly scoped cost: Compare like with like. ISS operations and research, system operations and maintenance, and commercial-station support are different categories and periods.
- Resilience: Consider spare-parts availability and the limited redundancy in crew and cargo transport described by NASA OIG.
- Partners: Account for the dated commitments reported in the 2024 audit and the practical consequences of a change in participation.
- Replacement capacity and schedule: Establish whether commercial services can provide enough access, research capability and human presence before ISS operations end.
- The cost of a gap: Weigh the consequences of losing crewed U.S. access to low Earth orbit against the cost and risk of an extension.
NASA’s stated reasons for using the ISS remain substantial, while the oversight record shows why continued use has limits. Whether the station stays relevant after 2030 depends not only on its remaining scientific and operational value, but also on the safety and cost of extending it and on whether a successor can actually take over the work.
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