Congress wants the International Space Station to last until the end of the decade.
The newly enacted Create Useful Incentives for Semiconductor Production (CHIPS) Act of 2022 includes a NASA authorization bill that, among other things, formally expands the agency’s involvement in International Space Station (ISS) for six years, until 2030.
The Chips Law (Opens in a new tab) Its main purpose is to ramp up semiconductor manufacturing in the US to address supply chain shortages caused by the pandemic – it has now been approved by both the US Senate and the US House of Representatives and only needs President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.
“I am incredibly pleased that Congress passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2022 — our agency’s first mandate in five years,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson He said in a statement today (Opens in a new tab) (July 28).
“This bill demonstrates continued bipartisan support for many NASA missions, including our approach to the Moon to Mars, as well as the extension of the United States’ participation in the International Space Station through 2030,” Nelson added. “With the strong support of the Biden-Harris administration in addition to this mandate, NASA will continue to advance scientific discovery, enable sustainable aviation, address climate change, and more.”
However, whether or not the International Space Station will reach 2030 is not entirely under the control of the US government; The extension must also be committed by other partner agencies of the program.
One of these partners is the Russian Federal Space Agency RoscosmosHe doesn’t seem fully committed. On Tuesday (July 26), Roscosmos announced its intention to Withdrawing from the ISS after 2024.
However, the real timetable for departure is unclear, because Russian officials have said they want to remain partners on the International Space Station until a new Russian space station is built and operated, which is Not likely to happen until 2028 at the earliest.
Also today, the Senate released the draft Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Spending Act for fiscal year 2023. The bill would give NASA $25.9738 billion next year — exactly the amount the agency appropriated in White House 2023 Budget Request.
However, the CJS bill includes some modifications in favor of NASA. These include the NEO Surveyor’s asteroid-hunting mission’s claim to Keeps its release date in 2026 Instead of pushing to 2028, cut a portion of spending on space technology that includes The work of thermonuclear supportAnd adding $50 million to support a new commercial crew provider after it SpaceX And the Boeing To increase program options.
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