NASA safety panel is “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging ISS

telcodad

NASA safety panel warns of increasing risks to ISS operations
By Jeff Foust, SpeceNews - April 17, 2025
https://spacenews.com/nasa-safety-panel-warns-of-increasing-risks-to-iss-operations/

Members of a NASA safety panel said they were “deeply concerned” about the safety of the aging International Space Station, citing long-running issues and funding shortfalls.

During a public meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) April 17, members expressed concerns about growing risks as the station nears its projected end in 2030.

“The ISS has entered the riskiest period of its existence,” said Rich Williams, a member of the panel, arguing there were “increasing risks” to the station.

Some of those risks are problems the station has been facing for years, such as leaks in a vestibule of the station’s Zvezda module called PrK. Russian and American experts have been investigating small cracks seen in PrK for several years, with no resolution on their cause or how to best address them. …

MacLeech

telcodad originally posted 6 days ago
https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/2475-nasa-deeply-concerned-over-safety-of-iss

telcodad

MacLeech originally posted 6 days ago

OOPs! Sorry.

WebinTheWorld

N.A.S.A is being starved for money and is seriously underfunded. This is happening while programs like I.S.S are being gutted and space is being privatized. It’s sad. The space station was a great wonder and now threatened by ‘efficiency’ cuts

[deleted]

WebinTheWorld This is happening while programs like I.S.S are being gutted

How is the ISS being gutted?

MacLeech

WebinTheWorld ISS is old and falling apart, it’s close to end of life. Efficiency cuts don’t have much to do with it. A few major safety incidents have occurred onboard the last few years, mostly on the Russian side as their funding and interest in the ISS has been cut as well. Remember, it was designed with a 30-year life span and many of the major components were built in the mid-80s, early-90s.
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/
https://www.space.com/iss-leak-safety-risk-nasa-oig-report
https://www.space.com/iss-leak-50-areas-of-concern-nasa-report
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_International_Space_Station

Without the long time private support for the ISS and commercialization of cargo and personnel flights to the ISS, it would’ve been abandoned and brought down a decade ago. NASA is spending more money and time on maintenance for the ISS, with dwindling benefits. It won’t last forever, and there are increasing chances of another major safety incident in the next few years. NASA was planning on bringing it down by 2030 before Trump was elected,and DOGE started making cuts.
https://www.nasa.gov/faqs-the-international-space-station-transition-plan/
https://issnationallab.org/investment-in-space-research/sponsor-research/

BTW, NASA is officially spelled without periods in it, as it’s an acronym spoken as a single word.

Astyanax

Elon has a plan!

I posted this a few months ago. 😉

https://broadbandbulletin.com/d/1136-musk-calls-to-deorbit-iss-in-the-next-two-years

MacLeech

Astyanax

Astyanax Elon has a plan!

I posted this a few months ago. 😉

Besides NASAs plan using SpaceX:
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-international-space-station-us-deorbit-vehicle/

NASA and Roscosmos also have a backup plan:
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/u-s-russian-iss-commission-controlled-deorbit-no-gap-are-imperatives/

Assuming nothing catastrophic happens before 2030, the plan is to use a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, or USDV, to intentionally deorbit the ISS into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean at the end of its lifetime. The Joint Commission wants a secondary deorbit capability in case something goes awry with the USDV. The contingency plan is using two Russian Progress cargo vehicles and the Russian segment itself to dispose of the ISS.