International Space Station Near Completion
NASA plan to scrap the space station is controversial
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After many delays, the international space station is to be completed by next year.
The International Space Station is finally on track to be completed next year after more than a decade in construction.
Too bad NASA plans to send the giant space lab tumbling into the Pacific Ocean in 2016.
In a controversial move, the space agency will "de-orbit" the spacecraft and its six astronauts because it lacks long-term funding beyond 2015, save a last minute change in policy, The Washington Post reported.
"My opinion is it would be a travesty to de-orbit this thing," Michael T. Suffredini, manager of the space station program told the Post. "If we get rid of this darned thing in 2015, we're going to cede our leadership in human exploration."
The international space station has long been a target of criticism. Begun under the Reagan administration, it became the international space station when the United States partnered with Russia in 1993. Its cost is expected to hit $100 billion for the United States and its partners, which now include 16 nations.
It's ironic, then, that the high price tag could add to political pressure to keep it up and running.
"If we've spent a hundred billion dollars, I don't think we want to shut it down in 2015," Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said in a recent public hearing.
This week, the shuttle Endeavour is gearing up to launch its mission to complete the stations's massive Japanese Kibo laboratory.
NASA officials say there will be important science performed on the state-of-the-art station in the years ahead -- like learning how survive in space, and searching for dark matter and antimatter.
