The Space Review  ISS image Even though the International Space
Station is only now just completed, the time may be right to
start talking about its successor. (credit: NASA)  ISS Next:
chasing humanity’s future in space and the “next logical step”
Bookmark and Share  Within the American space community, a space
station was long considered the “next logical step” especially
given the limitations of the Space Shuttle. That centrality was
earlier reinforced in the public’s mind by the majestic rotating
wheel in space in the Disney short feature Men in Space. The
space shuttle was part of a larger vision embodied in the 1969
Space Task Force report, which in its most expansive version
envisioned space stations orbiting both the Earth and the Moon,
with a space tug employed to move between the two celestial
bodies carrying cargo and crew. This particular arrangement was
part of a larger endeavor aimed at reaching Mars after
establishing bases on the lunar surface.  Ironically, the battle
to save ISS ultimately u