NASA is soliciting industry proposals for what is expected to become the first piece of a new multipurpose spaceport circling in the vicinity of the Moon, an initiative known as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, but the real bridge for expanding the U.S. human presence in space is anchored some 200,000 mi. closer to home, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), which in November marks its 20th year in orbit.More than half those years were spent building the 925,335-lb. (419,725-kg) complex in low Earth orbit (LEO), a job that required 37 space shuttle missions, five Russian Proton rocket launches and, as of September, 212 spacewalks to assemble, maintain and repair. Despite hardships, including a three-year suspension of U.S. flights after the 2003 Columbia accident, the retirement of the space shuttle fleeteight years later and ongoing Russian crew staffing cutbacks, the station has been continuously occupied for nearly 18 years, a testament to the resiliency and resources of the 15-nation partnership that oversees its operations.
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