IEEE Spectrum: ISS Repair Space Walk: A Glimpse Into the Station's Future

IEEE Spectrum: ISS Repair Space Walk: A Glimpse Into the Station's Future: "6 August 2010—The dramatic emergency-repair space walks assigned to astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson aboard the International Space Station (ISS) tomorrow signify much more than the repair itself. The astronauts are the first to employ an entirely new mode of spacecraft maintenance. Previous approaches to keeping the 380-metric-ton orbital outpost functional are being retired, along with the United States’ space shuttle fleet. Astronauts should expect this new emergency-repair scenario for the remainder of the station’s lifetime, which could be decades."

No longer can the station depend on specially trained teams bringing up replacement parts on Shuttles. From now on they've got to make due with the skills of the station crew and what spares the Shuttle has already delivered.