NASA has designated SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, with the responsibility of building the tow ship that will deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its operational life. The structure should be able to provide the final boost to a station that weighs approximately 400 tons and travels at 27,000 km/h around the Earth.
The ISS has been in orbit for 25 years. Nearly 270 astronauts of different nationalities have worked in their compartments. As of April 2024, 71 expeditions have been carried out to it and 3,300 experiments have been carried out in microgravity conditions. Each astronaut crew has contributed to the study of different scientific aspects. Soon his entire scientific odyssey will come to an end.
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Instead of being abandoned like some of the satellites that can no longer operate, the ISS will have a special disposal process. “It is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible departure of the International Space Station in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030,” NASA said. To achieve this, it will use a vehicle that will guide the structure towards a spaceship graveyard located deep in the Pacific Ocean.
This will be the goodbye to the ISS
When the ISS enters Earth, its components will be destroyed in the atmosphere. The remains will fall into the Point Nemo, the farthest place from any land on the planet. In this portion of the high seas rest the remains of 260 spacecraft, according to Popular Science. The International Space Station will become the largest object ever buried at Point Nemo in history. The feat will require the experience of a specialized company.
In September 2023, NASA opened a call for private initiatives to design the tugboat. The decision would be an advantage for the US government, while boosting innovation through business competition. After 10 months of procedures, SpaceX was the firm that provided the best proposal. According to the space agency’s statement, the award contract has a total potential value of $843 million.
“It is an honor for SpaceX that NASA trusts us to support this critical mission,” the company published on the X social network. For his part, Elon Musk limited himself to sharing NASA’s statement. Since the announcement, he has not stopped publishing information about the capabilities of his Falcon rockets and the successful deployment of the Starlink satellites.
Although SpaceX will take care of the tow vehicle, NASA could turn to another company to take it to space. The next step is to hire the launch service. It is not yet clear whether any of Elon Musk’s rockets will carry the space tug or if the responsibility will fall to other companies, such as Boeing or Blue Origin.
As the time comes to say goodbye to the International Space Station, its successor, the Gateway lunar platform, begins to reveal its structural details. The retirement of the laboratory does not mark the end of scientific spacecraft in microgravity conditions; Instead, it begins a new era in which private companies, together with governments, will take advantage of that region of space to create new research and tourism points.
