Politics of the International Space Station

The politics of the International Space Station have been affected by superpower rivalries, international treaties, and funding arrangements. The space station has an international crew, with the use of their time, and that of equipment on the station, being governed by treaties between participant nations. The station is divided into the Russian Orbital Segment, and the US Orbital Segment. Crews are launched to the station via Russian Soyuz missions and US launch vehicles, although the US operated none between the 2011 Space Shuttle retirement and 2018 first crewed launch of SpaceX Dragon 2. The station has been resupplied by cargo spacecraft operated by the US, Russia, European Space Agency, and Japan.

The ISS program concept was formulated in 1993 by the United States and Russia, when their Freedom and Mir-2 station concepts failed for budgetary reasons.[1] The countries also collaborated on the 1993–1998 Shuttle–Mir program. In 1998, the Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement was signed by fifteen countries, representing NASA, Russia's Roscosmos, Canadian Space Agency, Japan's JAXA, and eleven member states of the European Space Agency.[2] ISS assembly began the same year. China expressed interest in the ISS program, but the 2011 Wolf Amendment prohibited most cooperation between NASA and China National Space Administration. In 2014, in response to the Russian annexation of Crimea, NASA ended most relations with Roscosmos, with the major exception of ISS operations.[3] In 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened to terminate Russian involvement in the ISS, but as of 2025 there has been no disruption, and all crewed launches continue to have American and Russian members, as well as other nationalities.

Since the last mission to Mir in 1999, only China has operated other crewed stations. It has crewed the Tiangong space station since 2021, as well the prototypes Tiangong-2 and Tiangong-1.

Usage of crew and hardware

There is no fixed percentage of ownership for the whole space station. Rather, Article 5 of the IGA sets forth that each partner shall retain jurisdiction and control over the elements it registers and over personnel in or on the Space Station who are its nationals.[5] Therefore, for each ISS module only one partner retains sole ownership. Still, the agreements to use the space station facilities are more complex.

The station is composed of two sides: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and U.S. Orbital Segment (USOS).[6]

Russian Orbital Segment (mostly Russian ownership, except the Zarya module)
Zarya: first component of the Space Station, storage, USSR/Russia-built, U.S.-funded (hence U.S.-owned)
Zvezda: the functional centre of the Russian portion, living quarters, Russia-owned
Poisk: airlock, docking, Russia-owned
Rassvet: storage, docking

History

In 1972, a milestone was reached in co-operation between the United States and the Soviet Union in space with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The project occurred during a period of détente between the two superpowers, and led in July 1975 to Soyuz 19 docking with an Apollo spacecraft.

From 1978 to 1987, the USSR's Interkosmos program included allied Warsaw Pact countries and countries which were not Soviet allies, such as India, Syria, and France, in crewed and uncrewed missions to Space stations Salyut 6 and 7. In 1986, the USSR extended its co-operation to a dozen countries in the Mir program. From 1994 to 1998, NASA Space Shuttles and crew visited Mir in the Shuttle–Mir program.

In 1998, assembly of the space station began.[10] On 28 January 1998, the Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) was signed. This governs ownership of modules, station usage by participant nations, and responsibilities for station resupply. The signatories were the United States of America, Russia, Japan, Canada, and eleven member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom).[11][7]

By nation

Brazil

Brazil joined the ISS as a partner of the United States and this included a contract with NASA to supply hardware to the Space Station.[40] In return, NASA would provide Brazil with access to NASA ISS facilities on-orbit, as well as a flight opportunity for one Brazilian astronaut during the course of the ISS program. However, due to cost issues, the subcontractor Embraer was unable to provide the promised ExPrESS pallet, and Brazil left the program in 2007.[41][42] Regardless, the first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, was sent to ISS in April 2006 for a short stay during the Expedition 13 where he realized the Missão Centenário.[43]

References

U.S. AND RUSSIANS JOIN IN NEW PLAN FOR SPACE STATION retrieved 2025-11-01^
International Space Station legal framework www.esa.int, retrieved 2025-11-01^
NASA Breaks Most Contact With Russia (Published 2014)

China

China is not an ISS partner, and no Chinese nationals have been aboard. China has its own contemporary human space program, China Manned Space Program, and has carried out co-operation and exchanges with countries such as Russia and Germany in human and robotic space projects.[45][46] China launched its first experimental space station,[47] Tiangong 1, in September 2011,[48] and has officially initiated the permanently crewed Tiangong space station project since 2021.[49]

In 2007, Chinese vice-minister of science and technology Li Xueyong said that China would like to participate in the ISS.[50] In 2010, ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain stated his agency was ready to propose to the other 4 partners that China be invited to join the partnership, but that this needs to be a collective decision by all the current partners.[51] While ESA is open to China's inclusion, the US is against it.[52] US concerns over the transfer of technology that could be used for military purposes echo similar concerns over Russia's participation prior to its membership.[53][54] Concerns over Russian involvement were overcome and NASA became solely dependent upon Russian crew capsules when its shuttles were grounded after the Columbia accident in 2003,[55] and again after its retirement in 2011.[56][57]

The Chinese government has voiced a belief that international exchanges and co-operation in the field of aerospace engineering should be intensified on the basis of mutual benefit, peaceful use and common development.[45] China's crewed Shenzhou spacecraft use an APAS docking system, developed after a 1994–1995 deal for the transfer of Russian Soyuz spacecraft technology. Included in the agreement was training, provision of Soyuz capsules, life support systems, docking systems, and space suits. American observers comment that Shenzhou spacecraft could dock at the ISS if it became politically feasible, whilst Chinese engineers say work would still be required on the rendezvous system. Shenzhou 7 passed within about 45 kilometres of the ISS.[46][58][59]

American co-operation with China in space is limited, though efforts have been made by both sides to improve relations,[60] but in 2011 new American legislation further strengthened legal barriers to co-operation, preventing NASA co-operation with China or Chinese owned companies, even the expenditure of funds used to host Chinese visitors at NASA facilities, unless specifically authorized by new laws,[61] at the same time China, Europe and Russia have a co-operative relationship in several space exploration projects.[62] Between 2007 and 2011, the space agencies of Europe, Russia and China carried out the ground-based preparations in the Mars500 project, which complement the ISS-based preparations for a human mission to Mars.[63]

On 28 April 2021 China launched the first part of an 11 series module space station named Tiangong Space Station. The Tianhe module was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on a Long March 5B rocket, which contains only living quarters for crew members. The entire space station when constructed will require 10 additional launches between years 2021 through to 2022.[64]

Politics of the International Space Station

Usage of crew and hardware

History

By nation

Brazil

See also

References

China

India

South Korea

Italy

Japan