32-Year-Old International Space Station To Retire After 2030: What’s Next? Must Know Facts About New Space Lab

For 25 years, the International Space Station has orbited above Earth, hosting astronauts from across the world and serving as one of humanity’s most important scientific laboratories. Since its first modules were launched in 1998, the station has been continuously occupied and has symbolised international cooperation in space.

More than 4,000 scientific experiments have been conducted aboard the ISS. These studies range from understanding how long-term spaceflight affects the human body to developing new materials that can only be created in microgravity. Just as crucially, the ISS has taught us how to live and work in space for extended periods, building institutional knowledge that will be essential for future deep-space missions. 

However, the station is ageing and is scheduled for a controlled deorbit into Earth's atmosphere after 2030.

A lesson from Skylab’s fall

This is not the first time the world has faced the end of a space station without a ready replacement. In 1979, NASA’s first space station, Skylab, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Although it was intended to crash into the Indian Ocean, Skylab survived longer than expected and broke apart over Western Australia. 

Large pieces of debris landed near the town of Esperance, forcing local authorities to respond as metal fragments fell from the sky.

In a moment that later became part of space history folklore, the town issued NASA a 400-dollar citation for littering. The fine went unpaid for decades and was eventually settled in 2009 by a California radio host. While humorous in hindsight, the incident underscored a serious issue. Skylab was allowed to fall without a successor ready to take its place.

A different approach this time

Nearly half a century later, history appears to be repeating itself. The ISS is now nearing the end of its operational life. After 2030, it is expected to be deliberately guided into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will safely burn up.
Despite its continued scientific value, the station is ageing, and maintaining it beyond that point is neither practical nor safe. The challenge once again is ensuring that humanity does not lose its continuous presence in low Earth orbit.

This time, however, NASA has a plan that differs from the Skylab era. Instead of building and owning the next space station itself, the agency intends to rely on private companies to design, build, and operate future orbital platforms.
Under this model, NASA would become a customer rather than the owner, commissioning services on privately operated space stations. This approach is meant to reduce costs, encourage innovation, and create a sustainable commercial presence in orbit.

What the next space station must deliver

NASA will select replacement stations based on a clear set of criteria. 

1. Any new platform must be affordable and capable of hosting crews of at least four astronauts for a minimum of one month at a time. 
2. It must support scientific research and technological development, continuing the ISS’s role as a research hub.
3. Crucially, the station should function as a private asset that the US government can use when needed, rather than being government-owned. 
4. It must also ensure a continuous human presence in orbit after the ISS is retired and be designed to de-orbit safely at the end of its operational life.

ALSO READ: ISRO Aims for New Launch Pad at Sriharikota in Four Years