Aging space station will be a 'full house' later this month

Twenty-three years ago, the International Space Station was born. Since the year 2000, many astronauts have called the ISS home. Now, it’s a full house and more occupants are on the way later this month.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - Twenty-three years ago, the International Space Station was born.

Since the year 2000, many astronauts have called the ISS home. Now, it’s a full house and more occupants are on the way later this month.

"They are constantly occupied and that is a really good problem to have and there is a lot of traffic out there right now," said Ken Kremer, a journalist with SpaceUpClose.

With 10 people in space, Crew-3 is getting ready to take off on Halloween weekend, brushing elbows with Crew-2.

A Russian film crew also arrived at the ISS this week. An actress, a movie director, and a veteran cosmonaut will spend about 12 days filming during their space mission.

"Obviously, the ISS is aging, it is 20 years old. Eventually, it has to be replaced. It is still working well but all the international partners have to analyze the parts of the space station and make sure that they are still able to be extended," Kremer said.

Right now, the ISS is approved to operate through at least December 2024, but NASA will most likely not build the next space station. Instead, the agency will depend on outside companies.

Companies like Sierra Nevada in Colorado and Houston-based Axiom Space are well on their way to constructing their own commercial space stations.

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