NASA develops Space Station

The NASA Space Station program's planning stage began in 1982, with a view to development funding in FY1987 and initial operations within a decade. An initial cost of $8 billion is projected for the continuously habitable, Space Shuttle-dependent system, not including either operational or scientific and commercial payload-development costs. As a customer-oriented facility, the Space Station will be available to foreign countries irrespective of their participation in the development phase.