[Satellite TODAY 10-19-11] Russia is planning to extend the service life of the International Space Station (ISS) from 2015 to 2028 to potentially use the station as a small satellite assembly line and launch pad, Russian space officials announced Oct. 18.
   The Russian Space Agency Roscosmos noted that other international participants of the ISS project such as Canada, the European Union, Japan, Russia and the United States have recently agreed to extend its operation until at least 2020.

   “At present, experts have been instructed to find ways to extend the station’s service life until 2028. The orbital station could be used as an assembly line and a launch pad for experimental spacecraft, including small satellites,” Roscosmos Director Alexei Krasnov said during a press conference at Space Forum 2011. “These are going to be small-size satellites, but we will be able to launch them from the ISS to a variety of orbits.”

   In a separate statement issued Oct. 18, NASA would not comment on Roscomos’ plans, but called the ISS “an anchor for the future of human space exploration and a major component of the U.S. human space program.”