INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: IT’S A HOME OFFICE IN ORBIT

Today, the International Space Station is the only place where people — no more than six at a time — live away from Earth. It is a technological tour de force and the most expensive thing that humanity has ever built. The 15 nations involved, led by the United States and Russia, have spent well over $100 billion (Dh367.8 billion) over more than two decades. The US spends $3 billion to $4 billion each year. Continuously occupied for nearly 18 years, the station serves as a test bed for studying the long-term effects of radiation and weightlessness on astronauts. Nasa has become proficient at running the station, largely eliminating breakdowns like clogged toilets, balky cooling systems and crashing computers.

Perhaps the most remarkable, life on the International Space Station has become unremarkable: It is a home office, albeit one more than 200 miles (322km) up and travelling at 17,000 mph (27,359km/h), where astronauts work, eat, sleep, exercise, check on experiments, perform chores. Only occasionally does the crew perform activities, like a spacewalk, that truly seem out of this world.

The possibility of retiring the International Space Station startled many. Companies like Bigelow are years from launching their space stations, and such expensive, cuttingedge projects often slip behind schedule. Critics worry that the International Space Station might be discarded before its successors are ready. A gap without space stations would disrupt Nasa’s studies, as well as emerging commercial endeavours. Nouveau space station companies could go belly up if the hoped-for customers are slow to show up.

While some companies are already paying to conduct modest experiments on the space station, they are heavily subsidised by the government. Nasa, for instance, currently picks up the cost of sending experiments to and from space.

THE FUTURE OF THE STATION

The United States Congress has so far been sceptical of — and sometimes hostile to — the idea of retiring the space station. Paul K. Martin, Nasa’s inspector general, this year issued a report outlining concerns. “Specifically, we question whether a sufficient business case exists under which private companies will be able to develop a self-sustaining and profit-making business independent of significant federal funding within the next six years,” he said.

China plans to finish its own space station in the early 2020s. Russia has also talked about retaining its half of the International Space Station should the Americans withdraw. Space policy experts hesitate to predict when putting people in space becomes economically viable for private enterprise. Charles Miller, former Nasa official, expects there will be three space stations in orbit by 2025: The International Space Station, the Chinese station and the beginnings of a commercial one.

“We’ll still have raging debates about the future of the International Space Station,” he said.