NASA revealed its plan to handle the 420-ton ISS station

Around the end of this decade, when it is expected to be decommissioned, the International Space Station (ISS) will be guided down into the atmosphere by a spacecraft and burn up.

International Space Station (ISS) taken from SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo: NASA

Currently, NASA and most international partners plan to operate the ISS until 2030. At that time, the basic structure of the station will become "exhausted" and cannot continue to safely welcome astronauts. . Therefore, experts must find the most suitable way to deal with this giant structure weighing about 420 tons, New Atlas reported on September 24.

Five space agencies include the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ) and the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos have operated the ISS since 1998, with each agency responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. The station is designed so that the components are interdependent and operate based on contributions from partners. The US, Japan, Canada and ESA have committed to operating the station until 2030, while Russia is expected to participate until at least 2028.

When the ISS stops working, pushing the station to a higher orbit is not feasible because it would require huge amounts of energy and the pressure placed on the station could cause it to break apart. The alternative is to plunge the station into the atmosphere in a controlled manner, let it burn up, and any remaining debris fall into an uninhabited sea.

Initially, experts planned to use a group of Russian Progress cargo ships to push the ISS into the desired orbit. However, after careful research, NASA and the ISS operating partners realized this method would not be effective enough. In addition, it is possible that Russia is expected to leave the station in 2028 and the deterioration of Russia's relationship with other partners makes the previous plan uncertain.

As an alternative, NASA proposed that American companies develop the US Suborbital Vehicle (USDV), used for the final orbital phase after the ISS naturally descends. The vehicle can be a modification of an existing model or a completely new design. The USDV must be operational on its first flight, with enough redundancy and the ability to recover from unusual incidents to continue the critical orbital descent process, sending the ISS station plunging into the atmosphere and burning up. USDV will take years to develop, test and become certified.