US is considering ceasing funding for ISS after 2024

The US government is working on a proposal to cut funding for the International Space Station after 2024. The Verge reports this on the basis of a draft proposal that the website says it has seen.

The draft proposal is still subject to change before an official budget request is released on February 12, but according to The Verge, two sources have confirmed that cutting funding for the space station will be included in the final draft of the budget proposal. The American space agency NASA could not be reached for a request for comment.

Ultimately, the US Congress will also have to consider the budget proposal. Many of the parties with which NASA works have also yet to announce whether they will continue to commit to the ISS after 2024. The ISS was expected to remain operational until at least 2028. The first part of the station came into orbit in 1998.

NASA spends about $3 to $4 billion each year on the ISS. Since 1993, the US government has spent approximately $87 billion on the International Space Station. Thanks to a budget allocated in 2014 by then-President Obama, the ISS can count on American funding until at least 2024. A reason for cutting the budget from then on has not been given, but the Trump administration may want to release money for the goal of allowing NASA to land astronauts on the moon again.