International Space Station finishes challenging year as plans are made for its retirement

Date:
Fri, 27 Dec 2024 14:50:21 +0000

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The International Space Station continues to act as humanitys outpost in low-Earth orbit, a role The post International Space Station finishes challenging year as plans are made for its retirement appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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The International Space Station continues to act as humanitys outpost in low-Earth orbit, a role that began at the turn of this century. However, the ISS is showing its age and plans are being advanced for its retirement around 2030. Several events on the Station in 2024 underlined just how the ISS program was dealing with several challenges.



A Changing Crew

2024 began with the Expedition 70 crew on orbit aboard ISS, with Crew-7 members Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, Satoshi Furukawa, and Konstantin Borisov on board along with Soyuz MS-24 crewmembers Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Loral OHara. Danish astronaut Mogensen was the Station commander
for Expedition 70.



NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli (L) and Loral OHara (R) wearing headbands packed with health monitoring sensors. (Credit: NASA)The Expedition 70 crew received visitors aboard the Station soon after the year started. On Jan. 18, the Axiom-3 private mission to ISS launched. Shuttle and Station veteran Michael Lopez-Alegria, a retired NASA astronaut now working for Axiom, commanded this flight.

The first Turkish citizen in space, Alper Gezeravci, Swedish and ESA
astronaut Marcus Wandt, and Italian Walter Villadei joined Lopez-Alegria aboard Crew Dragon Freedom , which docked with the ISS at the Harmony modules forward port on Jan. 20.

Recovery weather issues kept the Axiom-3 crew in space until Feb. 9, when Freedom finally splashed down off Daytona Beach, Florida. While the Axiom-3 astronauts only spent a few weeks in space, ISS commander Kononenko and Chub were destined for a stay of nearly 374 days in orbit, caused by a reshuffle
of Soyuz flight crews made necessary by a coolant leak on the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to ISS. Marcus Wandt in Superman pose in the Columbus laboratory. (Credit: ESA)

Their fellow Russian cosmonaut, Borisov, came home with Moghbeli, Mogensen, and Furukawa aboard Crew Dragon Endurance on March 12, splashing down off Pensacola, Florida. Endurance undocked from Harmonys zenith port, which it
had occupied since it docked to the Station on Aug. 27, 2023.

Before Crew-7 returned to Earth, they needed to complete the handover process with the Crew-8 astronauts. Crew-8 launched to the Station on March 4 aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour , with NASAs Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin.

Crew-8 docked to the ISS Harmony modules forward port on March 5. Endeavour switched from the forward to the zenith port of Harmony on May 2 to make way for Starliner Calypsos docking to the Harmony forward port, which took place on June 6. Closeup of Crew Dragon Endeavour during its relocation to the zenith port of Harmony. (Credit: NASA)

Crew-8 was not the only crewed launch to ISS in March 2024. On March 23 Soyuz MS-25 launched to the Station from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson, and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya.

However, only Dyson would stay aboard ISS for the next six months. Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya returned to Earth along with Loral OHara on April 6 aboard Soyuz MS-24, landing on the steppe in Kazakhstan before being taken to their respective countries.

Cosmonauts Kononenko and Chub had launched aboard MS-24 but would return aboard MS-25 in September along with Dyson, while Expedition 71, with Kononenko still commanding the Station, started when MS-24 undocked. Expedition 71 started with Dominick, Barratt, Epps, Grebenkin, Kononenko, Chub, and Dyson aboard ISS. Soyuz MS-25 Prime Crew GCTC Portrait: Tracy
Dyson, Oleg Novitskiy, and Marina Vasilevskaya. (Credit: Andrey Shelepin)

However, those seven people would be soon joined by two other astronauts, who would stay aboard ISS far longer than they expected. The Station would end up flying with a crew of nine for an extended period in the summer and fall of 2024, due to issues with Starliner Crew Test Flight (CFT) mission that launched to ISS.

NASAs Commercial Crew Program has long been trying to develop dissimilar redundancy that would ensure the ability to launch astronauts from American soil even if a problem occurred that grounded a crew spacecraft.

While the SpaceX Crew Dragon has performed very well in flying astronauts to ISS since 2020, the Boeing Starliner that was also developed for crew
rotation to the Station has had a far more checkered history, with the uncrewed first orbital test flight in 2019 not making it to ISS. The second uncrewed orbital test flight suffered long delays before flying in 2022.

After multiple delays, the Starliner Calypso the first Starliner that launched back in 2019 launched with two veteran astronauts and test pilots
on board on June 5. However, the spacecraft began to have issues with its thruster system soon after it arrived on orbit. The CFT mission kept being extended while tests were made on the thrusters.

While Calypso was able to dock with the Station, the issues ultimately forced NASA to keep CFT crewmembers Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on ISS while Calypso ended up returning safely to White Sands on Sept. 7 without them. Although Calypso returned safely, NASAs decision was grounded in its process for ensuring flight safety.

The crew assignment for the next rotation flight Crew-9 had to be changed from four to two while arrangements were made to accommodate the CFT astronauts aboard the Crew-8 spacecraft if an emergency return was needed. Astronauts Zena Cardman and Stephanie Wilson are presumably available for future flight assignments after being taken off Crew-9. Crew Dragon Freedom prior to launch of the Crew-9 mission. (Credit: SpaceX)

Crew-9 astronauts Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov launched on Sept. 28 aboard Crew Dragon Freedom , which had flown the Axiom-3 mission in January. After Freedom docked with ISS at Harmonys forward port, Butch Wilmore and
Suni Williams were able to use that spacecraft as their emergency return spacecraft, since they will return to Earth aboard Freedom with Hague and Gorbunov.

Soyuz MS-26 launched to the Station shortly after Calypsos return to White Sands. On Sept. 11, MS-26 launched from Baikonur with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexsey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner along with NASAs Don Pettit. They conducted
a handover period with the Soyuz MS-25 crew before Kononenko, Chub, and Dyson departed ISS and returned to Earth on Sept. 23.

The departure of MS-25 marked the end of Expedition 71 and the beginning of Expedition 72, which will continue until Ovchinin, Vagner, and Pettit depart ISS aboard Soyuz MS-26 sometime in the spring of 2025. Crew-8 members Dominick, Barratt, Epps, and Grebenkin returned safely to Earth aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour , splashing down off Pensacola on Oct. 25. Crew-8 splashes down off Pensacola, Florida on Oct. 25, 2024. (Credit: NASA+)

Crew-8 became the longest Crew Dragon mission flown to date, staying in space for just over 235 days. Normally, Crew Dragon missions last around 210 days, but NASA extended the allowed mission length to 240 days. Hurricane Milton
and other storms caused further delays in returning Crew-8 to Earth.

After Crew Dragon Endeavours return to Earth, the Crew-8 members were flown
to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola hospital for additional evaluation after one of the NASA astronauts experienced what was only described as a medical issue after splashdown. That astronaut, not identified for privacy reasons, was hospitalized as a precautionary measure but released the following day, described as in good health.

Suni Williams is now the Station commander, marking the second time she has performed this duty. Butch Wilmore, Nick Hague, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexsey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, and Don Pettit are the current Expedition 72 members aboard the ISS, and this is the crew that will finish 2024 aboard the ISS.

Spacesuit Issues

Crew shuffling was not the only challenge the Station endured this year. The aging shuttle-era Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) on the US segment for ISS suffered issues that ended up preventing any scheduled EVAs from being successfully conducted by NASA in 2024. Roscosmos fared better with its Soviet-era Orlan suits, being able to complete two spacewalks totaling 11 hours and 53 minutes this year. CFT astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni
Williams posing with Expedition 71 astronauts Tracy Dyson and Michael Barratt during EVA preparations. (Credit: NASA)

The only EVA NASA managed from the US segment in 2024 was ended after 31 minutes due to a water leak in Tracy Dysons spacesuit service and cooling umbilical unit. This occurred shortly after the airlock was depressurized,
and there have been no US EVA attempts since. The last successful US EVA on ISS was on Nov. 1, 2023, when Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral OHara completed US EVA-89.

The first US EVA for Expedition 71 was originally scheduled for June. EVA-90 was intended to retrieve an S-band antenna electronics box fulfilling a task that had to be deferred from EVA-89 and to collect samples from the exterior of the Station for signs of microbial growth. Another task was to prepare a new end effector joint for installation on Canadarm2 on a later spacewalk.

On June 13 Matthew Dominick and Tracy Dyson started to prepare for the EVA. However, the EVA had to be scrubbed about an hour before the scheduled start due to what NASA termed spacesuit discomfort for Dominick. EVA-90 was rescheduled for June 24 with Tracy Dyson and Michael Barratt, and this time the astronauts donned their suits and depressurized the airlock in the Quest module. Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson in her spacesuit during the shortened spacewalk on June 24, 2024. (Credit: NASA)

Dyson and Barratt opened the airlocks external hatch, but Dysons service and cooling umbilical unit leaked water, and EVA-90 ended far earlier than had been hoped. The astronauts had to close the hatch and repressurize the
airlock with none of their tasks even started.

EVA-90 was the first of several US segment spacewalks planned for 2024, but all of the tasks have now been pushed into 2025 or beyond. On the Russian segment, Russian EVA-62 was successfully performed on April 25. Cosmonauts Kononenko and Chub spent 4 hours and 36 minutes outside the Stations Russian segment.

This EVAs objectives included deploying a mini radar unit and installing experiments. The cosmonauts also retrieved Biorisk canisters for return to Earth, removed or repositioned other experiments, and wiped down handrails on the Nauka and Poisk modules. This activity was done to check for microbial growth and hydrazine contamination on the modules. Cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin outside the Russian segments Poisk module on Dec. 19. (Credit: NASA+)

On Dec. 19 cosmonauts Ovchinin and Vagner conducted Russian EVA-63 and stayed outside for 7 hours and 17 minutes. The cosmonauts installed an X-ray experiment on the Zvezda service module, retrieved several space exposure experiments, replaced patch panels, and jettisoned equipment no longer
needed. A task to move a control panel for the European Robotic Arm on Nauka was moved to a future spacewalk due to time constraints.

ISS Operations

The Station received its regular cargo flights with experiments, food, clothing, water, spacesuit parts, and other supplies throughout the year. The first cargo delivery to ISS in 2024 launched on Jan. 30 when the Northrop Grumman Cygnus S.S. Patricia Hilliard Robertson spacecraft flew atop a Falcon 9 from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).

The Cygnus, loaded with 3,726 kg of cargo, was berthed to the Unity module nadir port at ISS on Feb. 1. Among the experiments flown aboard the
spacecraft was a European 3D metal printer as well as a semiconductor manufacturing in space experiment and a remote robotic surgery demonstrator.

These experiments were just some of the hundreds of experiments and demonstrations conducted aboard ISS this year. The Cygnus was unberthed on July 12 before a destructive atmospheric reentry, being loaded with trash for disposal as well as an atmospheric reentry experiment. Progress MS-26
arriving at the ISS over a cloudy Earth. (Credit: NASA)

The next cargo delivery to the Station was performed by Progress MS-26, launching from Baikonur on Feb. 15. The Progress cargo spacecraft, derived from the Soviet/Russian Soyuz crewed spacecraft, delivered 2,518 kg of cargo to the Station and its Zvezda service module aft port. The Progress
spacecraft deorbited on Aug. 13 prior to its destructive reentry after being loaded with trash.

CRS-30, using Cargo Dragon C209, launched to ISS from SLC-40 at CCSFS on
March 21, docking on March 23 at the ISS Harmony modules zenith port. This Cargo Dragon carried 2,841 kg of cargo including a cubesat to be deployed along with photosynthesis and particle experiments plus other science. C209 splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico on April 30, returning experiment samples and other down mass cargo to Earth.

Progress MS-27 launched from Baikonur on May 30 with another 2,504 kg of supplies, docked to the Poisk module, and reentered the atmosphere on Nov.
19. Cygnus NG-21, the S.S. Francis R. Scobee , was launched by a Falcon 9
from CCSFS on Aug. 4 and berthed on the ISS Unity nadir port by the Canadarm2 on Aug. 6. The spacecraft was loaded with 3,857 kg of cargo, including additional supplies to support a nine-member crew on the Station as well as stem cell and DNA repair experiments along with other cargo. Cygnus cargo
ship S.S. Francis R. Dick Scobee approaches ISS for the Canadarm2s 50th berthing of a spacecraft. (Credit: NASA)

This Cygnus is the second of three to be launched by the Falcon 9 pending the availability of the Antares 330, currently in development by Northrop Grumman and Firefly Space. S.S. Francis R. Scobee is still berthed to the Station prior to its scheduled January 2025 deorbit.

Progress MS-28 is also currently docked to the Station after launching with 2,621 kg of cargo on Aug. 15 from Baikonur. This Progress spacecraft is currently docked to the Zvezda aft module, which allows it to participate in reboost and collision avoidance maneuvers. The ISS has performed 40 debris avoidance maneuvers since 1999, the last one being on Nov. 25 of this year.

CRS-31 was launched on Nov. 5 atop a Falcon 9 from Pad 39A at KSC and docked with the Stations Harmony forward port later that day. Cargo Dragon C208 was loaded with 2,762 kg of cargo, including 171 kg of spacewalk equipment as
NASA looks to resume EVA operations from the US segment. Solar wind and Antarctic moss experiments headlined science on board to be done by the ISS crew. Cargo Dragon C208 performing its ISS reboost test on Nov. 8. (Credit: NASA+)

CRS-31 also became the first Cargo Dragon to perform a reboost of ISS, demonstrating the capability on Nov. 8. Prior to the reboost test, Crew
Dragon Freedom was moved from Harmonys forward port to its zenith port on
Nov. 3. Reboosts using Dragon spacecraft will always use the forward port.

This test will inform the development of the US Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) that SpaceX is developing for the end of life of the Station. C208 deorbited and splashed down safely in the Gulf of Mexico on Dec. 17.

The final logistics mission to ISS of 2024 occurred on Nov. 21 when Progress MS-29 launched from Baikonur. This Progress vehicle is also docked to ISS, being attached to the Poisk module, and the spacecraft carried 2,487 kg of cargo to the Station. It is planned to remain on the Station until May 2025. Progress MS-28 is also to stay on ISS until sometime in 2025.

The Path Ahead

The ISS is planned to continue being crewed and operated until 2030, but preparations are being made for the end of its life. There were some developments this year that could impact those preparations and the future of the orbiting complex. The prototype of a planned new spacesuit for low-Earth orbit operations. (Credit: Collins Aerospace)

NASAs spacesuit issues this year underline the need for a replacement, and a new spacesuit is in the works. Collins Aerospace was forced to end its involvement in the replacement suit program in June due to issues with the development timeline, while Axiom Space is developing a new spacesuit for Artemis missions.

Axiom received a task order from NASA in July 2023 to study making a version of its spacesuit for use on the ISS. It is not currently publicly known when or if new spacesuits from this effort will be tested on the Station. Collins Aerospace had previously planned to have their suits ready for testing on the ISS around the middle of this decade.

An issue that could negatively affect the Stations lifetime particularly the Russian segments lifetime is an air leak on the Zvezda module, which was launched in 2000. This leak is in a vestibule connecting the aft docking port to the pressurized portion of the module, and NASA has placed it on a 55 risk matrix. The Zvezda module, as seen by the STS-97 astronauts in late 2000. (Credit: NASA)

This means that the leak, in NASAs view, has the highest risk potential for likelihood of occurrence and consequences, though Roscosmos is confident that they can monitor the leak and close the hatch permanently before the
situation becomes catastrophic. If the hatch is closed permanently, the Russian segment will lose one of its docking ports.

The agreement between NASA and Roscosmos to operate the ISS extends to 2028, while NASA wants to extend operations to 2030. This year NASA selected SpaceX to develop the USDV, which will be derived from the Dragon spacecraft, to deorbit the Station around 2030-31 and dispose of it in a remote point of the Pacific Ocean away from shipping lanes.

Beyond that date, NASA is planning on procuring low-Earth orbit space station services from the private sector, though a final downselect has not yet taken place. Axiom Space, VAST, Blue Origin, and other companies are working on private space station designs, though there are financial challenges and questions about the viability of the market. Cutaway diagram of the final design of Haven-1. (Credit: VAST)

The issues with Boeings Starliner program also raise questions about that
crew vehicles future. There were six operational crew rotation missions planned for the program, but after the CFT mission, it is not certain when,
or even if, Starliner will fly again. Boeing reportedly has lost money on the program and there has not been much publicly said about the programs future since Calypsos return to Earth. The ISS must rely on Crew Dragon and Soyuz vehicles to send crews up to the Station for the time being.

2025 will start with the combined Crew-9/CFT and Soyuz MS-26 crewmembers on board the Station. The Crew-10 mission, using a new Crew Dragon, C213, has
now been delayed to no earlier than March 25 due to additional time needed to prepare the new spacecraft. The Crew-10 members, NASAs Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXAs Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos Kirill Peskov, will get to name the spacecraft.

Crew-11 is scheduled for July 2025, while Progress missions are set for February, July, September, and December. Soyuz MS-27 is scheduled for April
8, while Soyuz MS-28 is set for Nov. 27. Soyuz MS-27 is to be crewed by Roscosmos Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and NASAs Jonny Kim, while MS-28 is currently to be crewed by three Roscosmos cosmonauts. DreamChaser Tenacity under construction at Sierra Space. (Credit: Trevor Sesnic for NSF)

A number of US cargo resupply missions are also scheduled for the year, including the first flight of the cargo DreamChaser ship Tenacity atop a ULA Vulcan rocket, as well as the debut of the Cygnus flying on the Antares 330 from Wallops Island, Virginia. Japan is also working to fly its first HTV-X cargo resupply ship to ISS, and it is scheduled to fly on an H3 no earlier than September 2025.

The private Axiom-4 mission to ISS is scheduled to fly no earlier than this coming April, with space veteran Peggy Whitson as commander. Indias
Shubhanshu Shukla will be the first Indian to visit the Station, and Slawosz Uznanski will become the first Pole to visit ISS. Hungarys Tibor Kapu will also be on board.

2025 could determine the Stations future, as a new Presidential
administration takes power in Washington. The possible resumption of EVAs on the US segment is also a development to watch, as the ISS moves into its
final years of being humanitys outpost in space.

(Lead image: Closeup of iROSA and original solar panels on the ISS truss. Credit: NASA/Don Pettit)

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