The International Space Station is becoming permanent residency it was designed to be and very few are taking notice.  That’s the good news. There is no bad news unless one considers the lack an awe-inspiring attention a negative.  It’s not quite old hat yet, but it has definitely moved to the back pages of the local paper and the concluding segments of the national news.
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For scientists, astronauts and cosmonauts that’s okay.  It allows them to concentrate on their work and experiments.  But for those who worry about the funding of the Space Station the lack of attention makes them nervous.  Funding follows headlines not only in Washington and Moscow but also in every political capital in the world.  NASA wants attention to assure the funding it needs, but attention is becoming increasingly harder to get.
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The space station is stocked with nearly three-thousand kilograms of new 
hardware and supplies the first long-duration crew 
will need to survive four months starting in November.  
Several maintenance tasks to improve station function 
are complete.
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The Russian Progress cargo ship on which many of the 
goods arrived is filled with the packing material they 
came in and other trash.  It will be destroyed later 
when Russian ground controllers detach the rocket from 
the Zvezda command module and send it to burn up 
during a fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.