NASA International Space Station astronauts, cargo at full capacity - Space.com

NASA announced it reached "full utilization" of the International Space Station(ISS) on Jan. 30, which is a milestone, according to SpaceNews(opens in new tab).

After more than 22 years of continuous occupation of the orbiting complex, crew time and available space for experiments and equipment is at capacity on NASA's side.

"To get at equipment for research, for some of our investigations, the crew has to wade through this stowage and find the right bags," Kirt Costello, NASA ISS chief scientist, told a meeting of the U.S. National Academies last month.

From left: Expedition 68 astronauts Koichi Wakata (from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Nicole Mann (from NASA) pose in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space Station amid electronics, wires and other equipment.

NASA is also looking at measures to reduce the amount of stuff flying up and down on cargo ships, such as minimizing brief rotations of bulky research facilities that take up most of a spacecraft's space.

In the further future, contributions could be made by companies like Outpost Space, which is considering ferrying cargo to and from the ISS via a paraglider if the technology is ready before the station's expected retirement at the end of 2030.