The International Space Station set against the backdrop of Earth. (File photo)
Washington:
The International Space Station will operate for an additional four years, or until 2024, the US space agency said on Wednesday.
"This is a tremendous announcement for us here in the space station world," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
The $100 billion orbiting outpost has been operational for 15 years, and had been expected to remain open to global collaborators until 2020.
More than a dozen countries participate in the space station, which has more living space than a six-bedroom house and comes complete with Internet access, a gym, two bathrooms and a host of science experiments.
NASA said the entire lab is the length of a football field (357 feet, 109 metres).
The International Space Station is the largest space lab ever built, some four times bigger than the Russian space station Mir and about five times as large as the US Skylab.
Although it is near weightless in space, the space station has a mass of 924,739 pounds (419,455 kilograms).
It is maintained by a rotating crew of six astronauts and cosmonauts from the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan.
"People love the International Space Station," said David Weaver, NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Communications.
He said this is the second time the life of the station had been extended under the administration of President Barack Obama, and was done based on the science promise that could come from a longer life.
"We need a longer planning horizon than we currently have," Weaver said.
Gerstenmaier said the decision to extend goes until "at least 2024," and noted "the hardware can last to 2028."
"I think the idea is that 10 years from today is a pretty far-reaching, pretty strategic decision," he said.
"We have talked to the partners about this," he added. "They were involved in all the hardware studies. In general, they see this as a positive step moving forward."
Gerstenmaier said from the US perspective, the decision would not require any immediate funds, since the budget has already allowed for ISS activity through 2020.
Humans gain access to the lab by launching three at a time aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The Americans' ability to reach the lab ended in 2011 with the retirement of the 30-year space shuttle program.
However, US companies SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have succeeded in sending unmanned cargo capsules to the outpost, and new US crew ships are expected to launch in 2017.
The aging structure requires regular maintenance, which is done by astronauts who don spacesuits and venture outside the lab.
The last such repair was completed on Christmas Eve when two Americans stepped out to replace a failed ammonia pump that served to cool equipment at the ISS.
Further details about the decision were expected from the White House and NASA administrator Charles Bolden later in the day, Gerstenmaier told reporters.
"This is a tremendous announcement for us here in the space station world," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.
The $100 billion orbiting outpost has been operational for 15 years, and had been expected to remain open to global collaborators until 2020.
More than a dozen countries participate in the space station, which has more living space than a six-bedroom house and comes complete with Internet access, a gym, two bathrooms and a host of science experiments.
NASA said the entire lab is the length of a football field (357 feet, 109 metres).
The International Space Station is the largest space lab ever built, some four times bigger than the Russian space station Mir and about five times as large as the US Skylab.
Although it is near weightless in space, the space station has a mass of 924,739 pounds (419,455 kilograms).
It is maintained by a rotating crew of six astronauts and cosmonauts from the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan.
"People love the International Space Station," said David Weaver, NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Communications.
He said this is the second time the life of the station had been extended under the administration of President Barack Obama, and was done based on the science promise that could come from a longer life.
"We need a longer planning horizon than we currently have," Weaver said.
Gerstenmaier said the decision to extend goes until "at least 2024," and noted "the hardware can last to 2028."
"I think the idea is that 10 years from today is a pretty far-reaching, pretty strategic decision," he said.
"We have talked to the partners about this," he added. "They were involved in all the hardware studies. In general, they see this as a positive step moving forward."
Gerstenmaier said from the US perspective, the decision would not require any immediate funds, since the budget has already allowed for ISS activity through 2020.
Humans gain access to the lab by launching three at a time aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The Americans' ability to reach the lab ended in 2011 with the retirement of the 30-year space shuttle program.
However, US companies SpaceX and Orbital Sciences have succeeded in sending unmanned cargo capsules to the outpost, and new US crew ships are expected to launch in 2017.
The aging structure requires regular maintenance, which is done by astronauts who don spacesuits and venture outside the lab.
The last such repair was completed on Christmas Eve when two Americans stepped out to replace a failed ammonia pump that served to cool equipment at the ISS.
Further details about the decision were expected from the White House and NASA administrator Charles Bolden later in the day, Gerstenmaier told reporters.
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