International Space Station to operate till 2020
16 Apr 2009
The International Space Station is poised to receive a new lease of life, with international partners agreeing to keep the $100 billion space laboratory going until at least 2020. The space lab was originally set for decommissioning in 2015, but has been given an extension after industry officials assured policy-makers that it was structurally fit to last out the extension period.
The only likely hitch in the plan will be for policy makers to decide where the additional funding 
will come from. Extension of the programme could cost upwards of $10 billion, which could affect other space programmes - unless Congress approves a larger budget for NASA.
Industry sources said the extension was good news for researchers who could now plan out ambitious experiments. These would include an experiment into gravity's effect on bio-fuels, which will launch in a few months.
A device called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be launched in a few years to search cosmic rays for evidence of dark matter and antimatter.
The extra lease of life would also allow further research on the psychological impact on teams involved in long-term space missions. Also on the anvil would be studies designed to study the impact on organisms of the harsh conditions of space.
Research would also include development of new materials.
Meanwhile, NASA announced Monday that it will soon resume plans to dismantle its shuttle fleet, ignoring calls to extend its life beyond 2010. Once the fleet retires, NASA will pay ferry charges to the Russian space agency for use of its Soyuz craft.
