International Space Station life extension

The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) was commissioned by the Review of Human Spaceflight Plans Committee to identify and explore technical issues associated with extending the life of the International Space Station (ISS) beyond the end of CY2015. The ISS life extension issues identified and discussed in this paper include: ISS international agreements, recertification of aging hardware, repair and replacement of critical hardware items, the availability of spare parts, transportation for provisioning, and resources available to conduct science. Comments on operations and provisioning costs, and a top level timeline for ISS extension are also discussed.