U.S. Plans Shut Down of International Space Station by 2030

(MENAFN) The U.S. administration has officially announced plans to begin the gradual shutdown of operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS), with the objective of fully retiring the orbiting outpost by the year 2030.

This initiative is part of the White House’s Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, which was unveiled on Friday.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) originally outlined its strategy to retire the ISS in a December 2021 report, a proposal that was later reaffirmed through additional documents released in early 2022.

According to the latest budget summary, “The Budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective commercial approach to human activities in space as the space station approaches the end of its life cycle.”

This statement emphasizes the shift toward more economical, privately led ventures in orbit as the ISS nears obsolescence.

The proposed 2026 budget would assign approximately USD18.6 billion to NASA, a notable decrease from the USD24.9 billion allotted in fiscal year 2024.

This reduction includes major cutbacks to scientific research initiatives.

During the transition period, the Trump administration has indicated that both crewed and supply missions to the ISS will be significantly diminished.

The remaining experiments aboard the ISS will prioritize long-duration human spaceflight research, which is critical for future expeditions to the Moon and Mars.

These goals continue to be firmly endorsed by Leader Donald Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

As NASA prepares to scale back government-led activity in low Earth orbit, it is expected to increasingly collaborate with commercial space enterprises.

The budget blueprint confirms that NASA intends to replace the aging ISS with “commercial space stations,” which will incrementally assume the roles and functions that the ISS has historically performed.

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