Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

International Space Station.
Image credit: Roscosmos

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has reported on issues related to NASA’s plan to de-orbit the International Space Station (ISS) and transition from the ISS to commercial space stations.

NASA has expressed its concern about having a “gap” in continuous human presence in low Earth orbit, but it has not yet assessed the likelihood or potential duration of a gap.

NASA spends roughly $3 billion a year to maintain and operate the ISS. This includes the costs of crew and cargo transportation to the station, which represents about 60 percent of the total cost.

NASA officials have indicated that ISS costs will likely grow in subsequent years.

Go to this GAO report — “Low-Earth Orbit: NASA Faces Impending Decisions for Replacing International Space Station with Commercial Stations,” publicly released: June 17, 2026, at:

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-107805

Image credit: GAO