What if a $150 billion six
bedroom, two- bathroom mansion with a gym and a breathtaking view existed?
That is unlikely to be found on Earth, but it does exist a little further away.
A six- bedroom home has more living rooms than the International Space Station.
There are also restrooms, a fitness space, and a 360- degree view.
The most costly thing ever created is humanity's lone permanent outpost in space.
It has been home to NASA for the last two decades, but the management are set to leave, signaling the start of a new era in space exploration.
Tonight, I'm instructing NASA to build a permanently staffed space station within the next decade.
President Ronald Reagan approved the construction of Freedom in 1984, but due to budget constraints, it was never built, and the vision eventually morphed into the International Space Station (ISS), which is the result of the combined efforts of five different agencies representing 15 different countries.
The first component of the space station, the Russian-
built Zarya module, was launched on top of a Proton rocket from Baikonur, Kazakhstan in November 1998.
Endeavor has already reached a top speed of 575 miles per hour.
The shuttle Endeavor carried the following module, Unity, the first American part made by Boeing, two weeks later.
It was the start of an engineering masterpiece when Zarya and Unity came together.
Hundreds of launches followed, each one putting the station together piece by piece, tens of thousands of pieces at a time.
The finished result was a 109-
meter-
long construction, about equivalent to an American football field in length.
Even while it appears like the ISS is moving slowly, it is actually traveling at 17,500 mph, which is fast enough for it to orbit the earth every 90 minutes.
240 individuals have visited the big spaceship as of the writing of this blog, living and working aboard what is effectively a giant floating laboratory, doing research and science experiments that have resulted in several innovations.
Scratch-
resistant glasses were invented by NASA's scratch-
resistant helmets. Athletic shoe bottoms include the rubber molding used in such helmets.
Firefighters are protected by the polymer fabric used in spacesuits.
Laser eye surgery requires the technology used to track astronauts' eyes.
The first computer mouse was developed with NASA's assistance, and the list goes on.
However, the primary purpose of the ISS is to assist people in learning about living and working in space so that we might travel much further.
President Trump issued a mandate in 2018 to focus on bringing astronauts back to the moon.
We haven't been there in a long time.
The last time that happened was in 1972.
NASA's Artemis program aims to send the first woman and man to the lunar surface by 2024 utilizing its Space Launch System, which will serve as the agency's cornerstone for exploration beyond Earth's orbit.
It isn't a coincidence.
Although financing for the space station can now be extended for a few more years, Washington originally suggested terminating NASA funding for the space station in the same year it intended to fly to the moon.
NASA spends between $3 and $4 billion a year to maintain and run the International Space Station, money that could be better spent on other projects.
It has a $9 billion yearly budget, but the Trump administration has been boosting spending in recent years, delivering roughly $23 billion in 2020.
The Obama administration attempted to delegate more of NASA's tasks to the commercial sector even before President Trump took office.
And then there's takeoff.
Atlantis' last take-
off. When the space shuttle program ended in 2011, NASA chose not to create its own infrastructure to go to the ISS, instead relying on commercial firms to transport its personnel.
NASA's Commercial Crew program awarded billion-
dollar contracts to Boeing and SpaceX so they could build their own ship.
NASA, you rock!
Way to go, SpaceX!
Bob and Doug, best of luck!
Elon Musk's business beat Boeing to the ISS by sending two astronauts aboard Crew Dragon in May 2020, which I discussed in another article.
Boeing should have flown people by now, but an uncrewed test trip in December 2019 didn't proceed as planned when the Starline spacecraft entered the wrong orbit, delaying a crewed journey until 2021.
The ISS's appearance is evolving as a result of its opening to private enterprises.
NASA has awarded Axiom, a Texas-
based firm, a $140 million contract to create a module that will be linked to the International Space Station in 2024 and utilized for commercial purposes.
When the International Space Station is decommissioned, one component will detach and operate independently as a private space station.
In 2021, Axiom will collaborate with SpaceX to send three astronauts to the International Space Station.
The cost of each seat is $55 million, and one has already been reserved.
Hollywood is also taking an interest.
Tom Cruise may join Crew Dragon to film a movie aboard the International Space Station.
In addition, Russia's state enterprise, Roscosmos, is planning missions to the International Space Station in the next years.
However, most individuals cannot afford private excursions, and this is not the primary goal of these firms.
It's a method of putting technology to the test in the pursuit of bigger aims.
In 2023, SpaceX wants to orbit the moon on a voyage funded by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who will also be accompanied by a group of artists.
They'll be aboard the Starship, a totally reusable spacecraft presently in development.
The spacecraft will be updated in the future to allow it to land on the moon.
NASA has chosen SpaceX as one of three businesses to create a lunar landing system, with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and relative newcomer Dynetics.
This is the first phase in the agency's plan to establish a long-
term presence on the moon, with the ultimate objective of reaching Mars.
NASA aspires to send humans to Mars in the 2030s, but it must first accomplish all it wants to do here.
While the agency focuses on the moon and away from the International Space Station, its partners appear to be doing the same.
The European Space Agency is collaborating with China more closely than ever before.
China plans to launch its own space station and European astronauts in 2022.
Due to security concerns, the US Congress barred Beijing from participating in the International Space Station.
In order to prevent China's ascent, America's partner, Japan, is collaborating with India on a lunar expedition.
While everyone's attention is diverted elsewhere, the International Space Station (ISS) is not growing any younger.
The 20-
year- old structure will reach the end of its useful life sometime in the next decade due to wear and tear.
Going to the graveyard necessitates a planned, catastrophic descent into Earth's atmosphere, as seen in this animation of the Russian space station Mir, which deorbited in 2001.
Although some components of the ISS will survive and fall into a stretch of unoccupied water in the South Pacific, it will burn up, break up, and vaporize into bits.
The debris is projected to weigh anything from 53,500 and 173,000 pounds, or up to 32 Model Xs.
Even after it is no longer with us, the International Space Station will be recognized not just as the most expensive man-
made object ever created, but also as a stepping stone toward more ambitious space missions.
A new age of space exploration would not be conceivable without the International Space Station.
Hello, my name is Kunal Katke.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
So, how do you feel about commercial activities on the International Space Station?
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You can post them below in the comments section.
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