In 2031, the ISS will be de-orbited in a fiery inferno. After the ISS retires, the only station orbiting Earth will be China’s Tiangong — but NASA is barred from working with China or visiting the station under US law. NASA has been rapidly funding private companies to try to close the gap in time.

I am highly skeptical about their ability to ‘close the gap.’ I firmly believe it will unfold similarly to what happened with human space flight after the end of the Space Shuttle era. There might be a couple of years, perhaps decades, when no progress occurs. We may see a miracle, something akin to SpaceX’s Dragon, but as a space station. Alternatively, it’s possible we won’t witness such development, and we might have to wait for years to finally get a new operational station.