International Space Station is there since 1998 – how many more years will it last?

#InternationalSpaceStation #NASA #ammonialeak #orbitaldebris The latest scare of ammonia gas leak has brought up the question of – how long will the ISS last? It has been there since 1998 and its life is tentatively set as 2024, but, given the normal wear and tear and fears of any asteroid strike or collision with orbital debris, can it really last that long?
It is no secret that, till now, the ISS, the habitable satellite, has faced a number of maintenance issues, from pump failures to damaged panels. The astronauts on-board ISS had to go for spacewalks to rectify some of the problems.
Incidentally, the International Space Station (ISS) is 17-years-old and has been occupied for 5,187 days and circled the Earth 92,357 times. It is, at present, certified through 2020, and the President of the United States has said that they will extend it to 2024.
This has been indicated by NASA spokeswoman Stephanie Schierholz.
However, in order to allow it to function, funds are necessary apart from more of international support for continuing to operate the space station. Its lifecycle beyond 2024 would depend a great deal on the matter of supplies of spares and the ability to carry out repairs on parts that breakdown or go unserviceable. Unless that happens, the ISS cannot continue to run.

False alarm of ammonia leak in the ISS – all astronauts are safe

#ammonialeak #ISS #NASA #ESA The International Space Station houses six astronauts – two of them are Americans, there is one Italian and the remaining three are Russians. They occupy two separate living spaces and, due to the scare of leaking ammonia gas, the Americans and the Italian had to evacuate to the Russian side of the orbiting lab.
However, the ammonia alarm in the ISS appears to be a false alarm as confirmed by NASA. They have said that there was no ammonia leak into the station's atmosphere and the astronauts were free to roam the outpost.
The station, at present, has a six-person crew - two of them are Americans, three Russians and an Italian astronaut. Once the scare started, all of them took refuge in the station's Russian-built segment. Thereby, they isolated themselves from modules built by NASA, Europe and Japan.
Latest information is that NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Terry Virts along with European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, an Italian are all "safe and in good shape" with their Russian crewmates.
Incidentally, the ISS has approximately the same living space as a five bedroom house and it has been continuously occupied by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since 2000.