SpaceX is planning to utilize an enhanced capsule to push the International Space Station out of orbit when its operational life ends in 2031. NASA and SpaceX revealed the strategy to deorbit the space station by causing it to burn up in reentry and eventually crash into the ocean. The decaying station, which became operational in 2000, will be dismantled by SpaceX under an $843 million contract with NASA. The decision was made to discard the space station as it ages and make room for private companies to develop their own space stations. NASA intends to focus on upcoming moon and Mars missions once private outposts are established.
Several options were considered by NASA, including dismantling the space station for salvage or boosting it to a higher orbit, but these were deemed impractical due to logistical challenges and safety concerns. Instead, SpaceX will use a modified Dragon capsule equipped with a significant number of engines and fuel to navigate the descent of the space station. The capsule will require a powerful rocket for launch and will be manned by astronauts during the gradual descent of the station, before they evacuate six months prior to its plunge into the Earth’s atmosphere.
This deorbiting operation resembles the fate of NASA’s previous space station, Skylab, which reentered the Earth’s atmosphere in 1979, showering debris over Australia and the Pacific Ocean. Unlike Skylab, which was uncontrollable during its descent, SpaceX’s approach aims to ensure a carefully guided reentry into the ocean to minimize risks. NASA aims to retrieve smaller items from inside the space station for museum display before the final descent, but larger components will be destroyed upon reentry. Although sentiments lean towards salvaging some parts, the goal is to eliminate the space station in a swift and decisive manner.
