"We are going to get out of the business of an International Space Station, we're going to deorbit it, it's aging, we're going to deorbit it in 2030-31," Nelson told the Science, Space and Technology Committee on Thursday. "We are going to turn it over to commercial and so we are now giving contracts to several commercial companies to create commercial space stations."
The firm that eventually wins the contract to create a new space station will attach its first module to the ISS, which will act as the core to start building the new space station, Nelson explained.
Earlier this month, the Russian government extended the lifespan of the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028.
The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA (European Space Agency) have confirmed they will support continued space station operations through 2030, according to NASA.
Nelson also touched on US-Russia relations in space, pointing out that both countries are required to integrate their space programs and assets in order to adequately operate the ISS.
The United States can have a cooperative relationship with Russia regardless of the differences over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, according to Nelson.