A bipartisan group of Senators wants to extend the space station to 2030

Enlarge / Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, left, and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine talk after a hearing in May 2019. (credit: NASA)

A bipartisan quartet of United States senators has filed a new bill that sets out space policy for NASA over the coming decade. The new authorizing legislation is largely consistent with much of NASA's present activities, but it differs from White House policy in some key respects.

Most notably, the legislation calls for NASA to support the International Space Station through 2030. The Trump administration has sought to commercialize space stations in low Earth orbit by 2025, perhaps by becoming a customer on a privately operated International Space Station or by supporting the development of smaller, private labs.

"By extending the ISS through 2030, this legislation will help grow our already burgeoning space economy, fortifying the United States' leadership in space, increasing American competitiveness around the world, and creating more jobs and opportunity here at home," said Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican who chairs a subcommittee on space and aviation, in a news release.

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