The International Space Station (ISS) will be operational until 2030. There are still many experiments to be carried out on this legendary orbital station with more than 25 years behind it, in which many countries such as Spain have participated. However, NASA is already preparing its final farewell. The American agency has entrusted the task to SpaceXElon Musk’s space company.
SpaceX will have to develop a vehicle that serves as an executioner for the ISS. This ship will serve as a “space tug” pushing the ISS safely out of orbit and back to Earth. The station will burn up as it passes through the Earth’s atmosphere and its remains will sink into the Pacific Ocean.
This practice is common in space exploration, the most common way to destroy space debris, such as satellites, ships or materials that are no longer operational. However, NASA has received a lawsuit this week for a piece of space debris from the ISS that hit a house in Florida.
In any case, this Wednesday, June 26, the American agency issued a statement announcing a contract with SpaceX to develop and build the “American Deorbiter Vehicle” as it has been dubbed. The contract is worth $843 million. This cost does not include the launch, but rather its development. The agency has requested a budget of almost $1 billion for this mission in 2023.
The remains of the ISS will fall on the most uninhabited area of the South Pacific (SPOUA), the area around Point Nemo, which has become the reference for space debris. Here Many of the ships and equipment that fall from orbit end up terrestrial when its descent is controlled.
It is the furthest point from any coast; even astronauts on the International Space Station, 360 kilometers from the sea surface, pass closer to that point than any other human living on the planet. Ducie Island is the closest, 2,688 km away.
Ensuring that the ISS falls in a controlled manner will be the objective of this deorbiter developed by SpaceX. Space tugs have been used in recent decades to propel ships into space. and relocate them from one orbit to another. Its size can vary greatly depending on the load for which it is designed.
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