Trump Administration May End NASA Funding for ISS by 2025

Trump Administration May End NASA Funding for ISS by 2025
www.popularmechanics.com...

The Trump administration plans to end "direct" federal funding of the International Space Station to free up funds for lunar exploration goals...The official budget proposal will be released February 12, delayed from February 5 due to the three-day government shutdown earlier this month. Congress will then review the proposal and has final say on the federal budget...

NASA spends about $4 billion annually to support the International Space Station and its astronauts living there, and the agency spent nearly $100 billion over more than a decade to construct the station. Funding for the ISS was approved by the Obama administration through 2024, though the provision left the door open to continue U.S. federal funding for the station into 2028. The Trump administration and the newly-formed National Space Council, however, have shifted the focus of NASA's human spaceflight program to a return mission to the moon and establishing a small space station in the vicinity of the moon, known as the Deep Space Gateway.

The bottom line is that NASA does not have the funding to pay for the enormous Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion crew spacecraft, the Deep Space Gateway (DSG), and continue funding the ISS. With the end of the station's service life approaching, the White House wants NASA to turn its attention to SLS and DSG as the agency pivots to a focus on lunar exploration.

All I have to say is that I think Trump is making the first move of all nations to say enough with this ISS stuff it is time to put humans back on the moon, like putting the unemployed back to work.

I applaud Donald for making this decision. Even though US has been one of the international partners supporting this project (through NASA)...it is time another public/private entity took over the tab while NASA shifts gears to focus on this Deep Space Gateway

And to be honest...lots of conspiracy that the moon landing was a hoax...so if Trump can prove that humans can be put on the moon, he just may be the first person in history to do it...assuming the radiation belt around Earth says otherwise.

a reply to: Skywatcher2011

The first thing I thought of when I saw this news was "There is probably something better they have in the works"

a reply to: FamCore

I still want to see "the dark side of the moon"

good. let's keep that money on earth.

Trumpites will applaud this because they do not appreciate science. I wonder why.

Trump should boost NASA funding by 10 times its original funding allowance to get a moon resupply base built so we can get to Mars. Staying on Earth forever is essentially decapitating humanity of ever surviving past the next 1,000 years.

You cannot expect to accomplish anything if no one pushes the limits on exploration into space in order to master it.

More money into - space exploration travel beyond the moon = more knowledge and more discoveries = more funding to find out more = more people willing to go on dangerous missions to seek out new discoveries.


The ISS was nothing but a waste of money. A fragile space station for an experiment testing lab that did nothing significant...Could have been used to set up a small base on the Moon as a start.

Whatever, everyone seems to be open to the idea of killing off Humanity before we ever had a chance to shine. See some of the above comments for reference.

a reply to: YungMahn

Maybe because we are tired of just looking and want to actually GO somewhere. Get Man back in space travel, not just orbiting our planet and thinking "someday". We need to get our collective asses in gear and put some people on Mars, not just staring through a telescope or letting probes do all the work.
But sure, let's keep putting all that money into what amounts to driving around the same block. Endlessly.

The ISS seems like a waste of money, what have they been doing up there anyway for all these years?

Have they made any new discoveries? has anything that they learned or discovered up there been used to improve our everyday lives?

a reply to: YungMahn

That's funny, considering what's actually happening here!

I'm all for this, personally. Can't wait to see if those freed up funds result in some really, really cool stuff.

originally posted by: YungMahn
Trumpites will applaud this because they do not appreciate science. I wonder why.

Kinda like Obama cancelling the space shuttle program so now we have to hitch a ride with the russians.

Wait a minute!That's where the collusion is!It's in space!

originally posted by: Skywatcher2011
And to be honest...lots of conspiracy that the moon landing was a hoax..

Unfortunately, there are now a lot of conspiracy theorists who also say the shuttle was a hoax and ISS is a hoax. Yes, even though you can currently still look up in the sky and see if for yourself if you know when and where to look. They claim that all amateur videos of it are faked as well.


Trying to convince conspiracy theorists that spaceflight is real is never a valid objective for doing spaceflight. They'll simply claim all the evidence is faked, even if you can show them in person they'll still just claim it's fake and refuse to look for themselves. I was once in a debate with a guy who claims that the SpaceX Falcon 9 landings are fake (again, you can see them in person for yourself if you head to Port Canaveral to watch an LZ-1 landing) and when offered the chance to see it in person, he said he "didn't need to" because he "already knew it was fake." There is no evidence and no amount of evidence that will ever convince moon hoax believers that missions to the moon are real, no matter who is conducting the mission. SpaceX landings proved that for me, they showed me that even if it were possible to watch the landings from the comfort of your lawn chair in person, people will still claim it's fake, and they'll simply lump all lawn chair based observers into the conspiracy if they have to. It's not rational, but as someone once told me, you can't reason someone out of a position they didn't use reason to get themselves into.

originally posted by: YungMahn
Trumpites will applaud this because they do not appreciate science. I wonder why.

Kind of a waste of money at this point; when that money can be better used elsewhere in NASA perhaps. Maybe it's time for an ISS upgrade? Maybe it's time for a manned base on the moon? Besides, I think whatever it is the X-37 has been doing in space has made the ISS obsolete to a degree.

It would be great if they could safely bring the ISS back to earth so it can be put in a museum somewhere.

Having read the article, and given this some thought the following can be stated:
The ISS, is a marvel in 2 different ways. The first is that it is a technological marvel to put together and to have in the sky, as a semi-permanent base for off world activities. To have it be in orbit, having to adjust its movements to avoid the junk that is floating out in space, and to have lasted this long. Combine that for the first time, in a very long time, countries came together to create something, not for themselves but for all of the world and humanity. That in itself, countries that do not agree, agreeing and working on this station to push the boundaries of science and technology, that is where the real reward is.
Now, unfortunately, there is a downside to this station, and that would be the cost. The cost to upkeep, and to maintain and ultimately to keep it operational, that is what is going to be the determining factor if this station continues to be viable for the future or if it means the end of it. And it is quite a cost, an estimated 100 billion require, and then there is resupplying it with the necessary resources as well.

Now Trump has set a lofty goal, put a man and a permanent base on the moon, and use that as a jumping point to Mars, with the idea to have permanent structures there. And this is a goal worth following. However, we should not just forget the lessons from the ISS project. The first main lesson is that if you can get a coalition of countries to agree and work together, then they can share the burden of the cost, materials and supplies.

The cost of sending a man to the moon, is neither easy or cheap. First is to get people who are willing to sit on top of a bomb, and trust that it does not blow up, and still is intact when it gets there. Then there is the required skills and people with the technical skills and knowhow to actually plan, build and see these kinds of missions succeed fully. And then there is the other details that would need to be looked at and studied and figured out how to achieve. There are 3 main problems that would have to be solved fully.

The first hurdle is that the USA has to figure out how to get a person into orbit and to the moon. That is a necessary expense. And unfortunately the USA has not been doing that, rather the USA has been hitching rides from Russia to get people into space. So there would have to be a vehicle that would have to not only get into space, but also make the trip to the moon and then land. The next issue would be to have a supply of water. Water is essential, we all need it and that is going to have to be a priority for those who would stay on the moon. Finally air and food would be needed. Having a base on the moon is fine, but the cost to supply it could be a problem. And if there is an emergency, those on that base would be stuck and not able to get help right away. So it could be a one way trip.

Now the other aspect, and there is a lesson from the ISS, and that is the long term effects of being in a weightless or near weightless environment, such as the Moon where the gravity is. So that too would be a contributing factor.