🌅 How the ISS Will End

SOURCE

NASA

WHAT TO KNOW

• NASA is set to replace the world’s most famous research facility sometime in the early 2030s. To do so, the agency will first let the ISS “drift down” from its normal low Earth orbit (LEO) over a period of 12 to 18 months using the Earth’s gravity and some minor boosting. Once the station is low enough, a specialized SpaceX deorbit vehicle will attach itself to the ISS and push it downward into the atmosphere.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The re-entry maneuver described above is known as a “controlled re-entry,” which the U.S. government requires whenever a spacecraft cannot meet or exceed a 1-in-10,000 likelihood of public risk due to falling debris. NASA expects most of the ISS to burn up or vaporize during re-entry, similar to the re-entry of other large structures like Mir and Skylab, though some pieces are expected to survive and splash down in a remote ocean region (most likely somewhere in the Pacific near Point Nemo).

CONNECT THE DOTS

• As the ISS comes to an end, NASA will work with private companies to launch a new generation of commercial space stations to take its place. Ceding LEO to private enterprise will allow the agency to transition its main focus to greater spacefaring: future manned missions to the Moon and Mars.