The ISS space adventure is coming to an end. After two decades of scientific exploration in orbit, the International Space Station is preparing to land in the Pacific Ocean. It was SpaceX, Elon Musk’s company, which was chosen to pilot this delicate mission, for an amount of 843 million dollars.
The International Space Station (ISS), soon to reach the end of its operational life, is taking its final bow. NASA has begun its gradual dismantling to a controlled water landing by 2030date marking the end of its operation.
SpaceX won the $843 million contract to orchestrate this delicate operation. The company will have to design a space vehicle capable of safely deorbiting the ISS and guiding it to a targeted landing in the Pacific Ocean.
The ISS bows out: SpaceX orchestrates its final landing for $843 million
« Selecting an American deorbit vehicle for the ISS will enable NASA and its international partners to ensure a responsible and controlled transition to low Earth orbit at the end of station operations ” explains Ken Bowersox, deputy administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA.
NASA’s top priority? A controlled return to Earth in order to to avoid transforming the ISS into a pile of floating debris above our heads. The American space agency estimates that its uncontrolled abandonment would generate “ 220 million fragments greater than 1 mm », potentially threatening satellites and future space missions.
Read: “I was in shock”: debris from the ISS falls on his house and goes through his roof
Fortunately, most elements of the station will burn up during atmospheric reentry. Only the most massive parts will require a precise deorbiting maneuver to avoid any risk.
The scenario foresees a gradual deorbiting of the ISS. Once the last crew has been evacuated aboard the vehicle designed by SpaceX, the ISS will begin its final fall towards a point located in the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemomore than 2,500 km from any land surface.
If SpaceX is responsible for developing the vehicle, it is NASA which will pilot the mission herself. The precise date of the deorbit remains unknown, and no technical information has yet filtered out regarding the vehicle. One thing is certain: the credits allocated to the ISS will no longer be guaranteed beyond 2030.
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