must destroy the international space station

NASA will give almost a billion dollars to SpaceX to deorbit the International Space Station after decades of uninterrupted service

NASA has just commissioned a mission to SpaceX at a cost of almost a billion dollars. The International Space Station It has components that are more than a quarter of a century oldwhich is why there are more and more breakdowns and repairs that have to be carried out by the crew. This has led to the end of its activity being expected to take place in 2030. The creation of a vehicle to deorbit this structure has just become one of the next challenges for the aerospace firm.

NASA will ask SpaceX to create a vehicle to deorbit the ISS

The American public body will give almost a billion dollars to SpaceX over the next few years after evaluating various alternatives. At first it was believed to establish this mass of metal in a space further away than the current one, but This would mean a higher cost in the medium term. This new alternative has been gaining ground within the company, to the point that it seems that, finally, the space rocket firm will be trusted.

One of the most notable features of SpaceX rockets is their ability to be reusable. SpaceX

The option that was quickly discarded was deorbitation without external help. The problem with this alternative lies in the incredible size of the structure, which could cause a somewhat uncontrolled fall to Earth. Given this situation, it was thought to carry out the descent using this type of space vehicle. According to the statement issued by NASA, the vehicle that will be in charge of deorbiting the International Space Station It will remain attached to the exterior structure for around a year. After that, and without having a single crew member on the space station, the controlled descent will take place.

The year 2030 seems to be the time when this episode will occur. It is an already amortized structure that, in addition, is being subject to ongoing repairs due to the passage of time and space radiation to which it is subjected. Astronauts who spend time there are increasingly devoting more of their time to repairs, an issue that is not gratifying for NASA and the other organizations that have representation.

Studies are already being carried out to determine the rocket that should participate in the mission. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus and Minotaur rockets could be sufficiently proven alternatives to ensure good performance during the mission. The SpaceX Dragon XLhowever, appears to be the proposal with the greatest potential. In addition to having the capacity to couple with another figure for up to 12 months, it has sufficient propulsion capacity.

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