The ISS project is a collaboration between five participating space agencies: CSA/ASC (Canada), ESA (Europe), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan) and NASA (United States). The latter is the one that is preparing the safe deorbiting of the ISS which will take place in less than a decade.
In order to have everything ready in time to get rid of the ISS, NASA has signed a contract with SpaceX this week. According to a statement from the agency, Elon Musk’s company has been selected to develop and deliver a deorbit vehicle. What they build will be used so that the orbital platform does not fall into populated areas.
The ISS has been operating continuously since 1998. In recent years, we have witnessed leaks and other series of failures. The problems show that the space laboratory has aged and that we should get rid of it very soon. To prevent deorbitation from occurring uncontrolled, NASA has turned to SpaceX.
It is the aerospace company that will also lead the first manned return flights to the Moon, with Starship. It is clear that NASA is confident in its capabilities. And, now, they also want them to demonstrate it with the deorbiting of the ISS.
The terms of the contract between NASA and SpaceX for the ISS
The latest agreement reached by Elon Musk’s company and NASA speaks of a spacecraft that will be responsible for bringing the ISS back to Earth. The vehicle, which they have called ‘US Deorbit Vehicle‘, will have to ensure that the deorbiting is carried out safely. This means that the rocket will have to guide the enormous laboratory to the Pacific Ocean and under no circumstances should it reach areas with humans.
The part of the ocean where the ‘Us Deorbit Vehicle’ is expected to take the ISS is nothing more and nothing less than the “spaceship graveyard«. An area between New Zealand and South America where many vehicles from space have already landed. According to reports, there are almost 300 remains of spacecraft that have ended up in this oceanic nook. From capsules to rockets and cargo ships.
Building ‘Us Deorbit Vehicle’ before 2030 will not be an easy task. It must be taken into account that the ISS has a mass of 419.725 kilograms, It is 73 metres long and 109 metres wide. The modules were assembled over a period of 13 years and SpaceX will have to bring it back in record time.
According to the contract, the idea is that most of the orbital platform will disintegrate. However, there may be pieces that fall to Earth and will have to do so in the spacecraft graveyard. The task of disposing of the ISS will be done in three stages:
- First, the ‘Us Deorbit Vehicle’ rocket will guide the solar panels and the radiators to the sea.
- Afterwards, it will be the turn of the individual modules.
- Finally, the spacecraft will be responsible for the primary structurealso called frame.
To accomplish this arduous task, NASA has given SpaceX a budget of 843 million dollarsIt should be noted that maintaining the International Space Station in operation costs approximately $3.1 billion per year. Therefore, however expensive the project may be, it will be cheaper than maintaining the orbital laboratory.
