first stepped onto the beginnings of# a new International Space Station.

A quarter-of-a-century later,# the station is now manned by## seven international crew members and# has become an iconic and pa rt of space history.

It circles# the globe almost every 90 minutes.

But the celebration is bittersweet, as# the station is set to be decommissioned.

I spoke earlier about it with our# science correspondent, Miles O'Brien.

Miles, thanks for joining us.

What would you say MILES O'BRIEN: I would say, Geoff, it is not so# much the science, as it is the partnership itself.

The fact that the former Cold War space race# rivals, the U.S. and Russia, got together in## a partnership, along with Europe, Japan# and Canada, about 15 nations in all,## and managed to make this partnership work all# this time is truly extraordinary especially when## you consider recent events in Ukraine and some# concerns that the partnership would go sideways.

And yet, at the cosmonaut level, the engineer# level, there are healthy and safe relationships,## most importantly, for the International# Space Station which have endured.

And## there's a lesson in there somewhere, the fact# that a peacetime project like this inv multiple nations could last so long.

I# can't think of anything quite like it.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, beyond the# important relationships and the## diplomacy, what can you tell us about th MILES O'BRIEN: It's been interesting.

Most of the science, frankly, sp ace for long periods of time.

So it's# narrowly focused in many respects on its## own mission.

However, there have been# some spillovers into other areas.

And## NASA likes to tout the space station as# a way of solving problems here on Earth.

Just to give you an example, though, when you# learn about osteoporosis on Earth, it has a lot## to do with what astronauts encounter when they're# in space.

Their bones become brittle and become## weaker.

And as they return to Earth, they have# a hard time rebuilding all of that.

So they have## learned about how to manage that by learning# how to keep their astronauts safe in space.

So there has been some science.

The idea,# though, that they would somehow go up there## and grow these protein crystals in# zero gravity in a way that you could## identify new ways to make drugs and cure# cancer, that has not happened, however.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, 25 years is# an eternity when it comes to tech## and innovation.

And the ISS has# these Russian modules on board,## which I understand have had all sorts of# technical issues, including some leaks.

So when is the International Space# Station slated for retirement?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, Geoff, it's a little long# in tooth at this point.

Some of th modules have been leaking and there have been# other problems along the way.

It's getting Right now, NASA has committed to flying# the station until 2030.

The Russians say## they want to get out a little bit sooner, but we# are in the latter days of the space station era,## at least the International Space# Station era.

Maybe others will follow.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, once# the space station is gone,## will there be destinations for NASA or othe MILES O'BRIEN: Well, it's a little bit# like what happened after the shuttle.

NASA turned to lean on private enterprise a# little mor NASA is seeking commercial entities to build space# stations that NASA could use as a destination and## pay to visit.

One of the companies, Axiom, based# in Houston, which has a lot of old NASA space## station players involved in it, actually has a# docking port on the current International Space## Station and aims to launch a module onto the# space station to get it sort of up and running.

And then, when the space station goes off into# the horizon, so to speak, off into the West,## they would undock and begin building# this commercial station.

The concern is,## there will be some sort of gap once again,# as there was after the shuttle retired,## before the U.S. was able to get# astronauts in space from U.S. soil.

GEOFF BENNETT: Do I have it right,# Miles, that China will be the only## nation to directly operate a space station by# 2030 MILES O'BRIEN: It's interesting.

You think of when Congress said NASA should not partner with# the Chinese on the space station.

The Chinese## really wanted in.

You have got to wonder if# that was the best decision, in retrospect.

But, yes, China has a space station# now.

It's been up and running,## continuously manned now since 2021.# The U.S. presumably will move into## this commercial space station.

Meanwhile,# Vladimir Putin claims Russia will build## another government-run space station# that it hopes to have in orbit by 2027.

Remains to be seen if that's going to be real.# But, regardless, I think it's important for NASA## to have a destination in low-Earth orbit that# it can go to.

If a commercial player will do it,## that'd be great.

I think it's a pretty# difficult business case, however.

GEOFF BENNETT: And my last question,# Miles, is a fairly practical one.

How will NASA ensure that this# giant space station does dangerous space junk and reenter the# atmosphere in an uncontrolled manner?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, this is the Skylab scenario,## 1979.

The first U.S. space station fell out of# the was waiting for the space shuttle to come# boosted and it wasn't ready to do that.

And so it came down.

Most of it landed# in the Indian Ocean.

Parts of it landed## over Western Australia.

It was a# very controversial thing and had## a lot of people scared there for a# little while.

What they will do in## this case is build a giant space tug,# maybe turning to SpaceX.

W Attach it to the space station,# so it can be thrust down in a## controlled manner into the Southern Pacific# Ocean, where no one gets hurt, hopefully.

GEOFF BENNETT: Like a cosmic tow truck.

Miles O'Brien, thanks so