A new crew will soon be heading to the International Space Station. It comes at a time of upheaval at NASA, where the agency lacks a permanent administrator and has more cuts on the horizon.
President Donald Trump just appointed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as interim leader for NASA.
The agency has been without an administrator since Bill Nelson, who served under President Biden and stepped down when the Trump administration came into office.
President Trump originally nominated Jared Isaacman, the billionaire space adventurer who participated in the first private commercial spacewalk last year,
But President Trump withdrew his nomination after he claimed that Isaacman donated to Democratic candidates and had personal ties with Elon Musk. Isaacman disputed those allegations a few days ago.
In the meantime, NASA is preparing to send a new crew up to the International Space Station, with a launch set for either late July or early August. Right now, they are aiming for just after 12 P.M. On July 31st.
The crew will include two American astronauts, one astronaut from Japan's space agency and a Russian cosmonaut. They will be heading upon a SpaceX rocket and capsule.
Amid tensions with President Trump, SpaceX founder Elon Musk had recently threatened to pull the company from these types of missions before he walked that back.
"Through the commercial approach that we've had and in the partnership that we've had with SpaceX, these crew rotation missions, we continue to maximize our research and throughput on the vehicle," said Bill Spetch, with NASA's International Space Program. "Of course, the station is critical to prepare for future commercial endeavors in low-Earth orbit."
RELATED STORY | Here's when you will see July's full buck moon
Meanwhile, NASA's budget is facing significant cuts under President Trump's 2026 budget. That includes a 25% budget cut, which is $6 billion, as well as layoffs that could potentially total 5,000 people. 2,000 of those layoffs could include senior staff at the space agency.
There are concerns those cuts could impact upcoming missions to try and return American astronauts to the Moon, and any potential future missions to Mars.
This coming fall will mark 25 years of a constant human presence on the International Space Station. The station is expected to be taken out of orbit in 2030.
