Future of International Space Station

The Future of the International Space Station (ISS) at this point is somewhat in doubt. The reason for that is the fact that the United States is the principle country responsible for the ISS, having absorbed the vast majority of the cost overruns that have come with the project.The fact that their commitment is uncertain is something that really does seem to be affecting
all of the plans that have been made for this space station.

In 2004, then President George W. Bush was responsible for approving a plan that would see the ISS deorbited by the United States and brought back to Earth in 2015. When the Obama Administration came to power, that plan was rejected in favour of a push to allow the ISS to stay in orbit until 2020. This plan was supported by many in the international space community including the Russians, Japanese and Europeans, all of whom have similar plans in operation to continue their own support of the ISS project until 2020.

At the moment, it seems as though the final battles will be fought within the United States. It is up to the administration to convince Congress that the ISS should be funded until that time. With the political turmoil in the country combined with a hyper-partisan attitude, it is unclear as to whether that plan will come to fruition. Even with noted people in the field such as former station commander Leroy Chiao commenting that a loss of confidence in the US ability to lead in the area of space would accompany such a decision, it seems as though this issue is one that is still up in the air.

Based on what we know now, it seems as though the ISS will definitely be around until at least 2015. Whether it makes it past that mark is seemingly dependant on what happens in the halls of Washington DC between now and then.