According to a recent report by the Russian "Moscow Times", Dmitry Bakanov, president of the Russian National Aerospace Corporation, announced that Russia and the United States have agreed to continue the joint operation of the International Space Station until 2030 and will retire thereafter.

The picture shows the International Space Station. 

According to the report, the international space station, which is jointly built, operated and used by many countries, started construction in 1998 and was originally expected to end its operational life in 2024.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has previously assessed that the International Space Station can operate safely until 2030. Bakanov said in August last year that he had reached an agreement with US officials to allow the International Space Station to continue to operate until 2028 before starting the decommissioning process.

Now the final decommissioning of the International Space Station has finally been finalized. Reported that the head of the US and Russian space department to make this decision is not easy. The International Space Station has long been a symbol of cooperation between the United States and Russia in an increasingly tense geopolitical situation, but the heads of the space agencies of the two countries have not had face-to-face exchanges since October 2018.

However, NASA Director Isaaman personally went to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to observe the latest International Space Station astronaut launch mission, which provided an opportunity for the heads of the space agencies of the two countries to meet.

The "Soyuz" manned spacecraft carrying Russian astronauts Peter Dubrov and Anna Kikena, and NASA astronaut Anil Menon was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 14. Isaacman watched the launch process on the spot and met with Russian officials.

The picture shows the International Space Station. 

Itar-Tass said on the 15th that Bakanov revealed that as long as the International Space Station is still in operation, Russian and American astronauts will continue to implement the so-called "seat exchange flight" agreement.

The protocol is used to ensure that in the event of an emergency or flight plan change, at least one Russian astronaut and one American astronaut are on board the International Space Station to maintain the operation of their respective modules.

He said that the two sides have agreed in principle to extend the operation period of the International Space Station to 2030, and the "seat exchange flight" agreement will also be extended simultaneously.

Bakanov also said that the two sides also mentioned the issue of formulating common technical standards during the discussion, so that both Russia and the United States can apply them to their future space station construction.

In addition, the Russian Space Agency and NASA agreed to "more detailed coordination" of their respective satellite constellations to avoid collisions.

After meeting with Isaaman in Baikonur, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said that the two sides talked about the possibility of cooperation between the future US-led commercial space station and Russia's proposed replacement plan for the International Space Station., Especially the issue of mutual support between the two sides in emergency situations.

According to the plan previously announced by NASA, after the International Space Station is retired, it will be safely and controlled out of orbit under the guidance of the "American Deorbiting Vehicle" developed by the US Space Exploration Technology Corporation.

The "American Derailment Vehicle" was deeply modified from the "Dragon" spacecraft and is responsible for pushing the International Space Station to a scheduled reentry orbit. When the latter re-enters the atmosphere, most of the structure will be burned due to severe friction, and the remaining debris will fall into the "spacecraft graveyard" in the South Pacific ".

Figure for the Chinese Tiangong space station diagram. 

It is understood that after the decommissioning of the International Space Station, China's Tiangong Space Station will become the only space station still in operation. Some private space companies in the United States are also trying to build commercial space stations. However, the extent to which this development model can replace the retired International Space Station is very variable, and the development of the commercial space station itself is also full of challenges.