International Space Station Retirement Plan: NASA has announced that the ISS – a lab in space – is scheduled to be retired in January 2031, after which it will fall into the Pacific Ocean. As the International Space Station enters its third decade of operation, it is entering its most productive decade in terms of scientific advancement, commercial value, and global partnerships. Over 200 astronauts from 19 different countries have manned the space lab since its launch in 2000, representing a continuous human presence in space. The International Space Station Transition Report of January 2022 states about ISS retirement plan and also states that for the next decade there are five goals for focus –
- Enable Deep Space Exploration
- Conduct Research To Benefit Humanity
- Foster A U.S. Commercial Space Industry
- Lead And Enable International Collaboration
- Inspire Humankind
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Table of Contents
A Little About International Space Station
Ron Reagan, former president of the United States, proposed in 1984 a permanently inhabited spacecraft in cooperation with a number of other countries. Russian rockets launched the space station’s first piece, the control module, into orbit in 1998. A US crew aboard the Endeavour space shuttle attached the control module with the Unity node about two weeks later. A crew was first accommodated on the space station on November 2, 2000, after it had been built piece by piece over the next two years.
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ISS is approximately the size of an American football field, weighs about a million pounds and can hold up to six astronauts and visitors. There are also laboratory modules from the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe aboard.
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Many scientific firsts have been accomplished aboard the space station. Space station astronauts printed their first 3D item in 2014. In 2016, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins sequenced DNA in space for the first time, and NASA’s Cold Atom Lab on the International Space Station produced the fifth state of matter in 2018 – the Bose-Einstein condensate.
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International Space Station Retirement Plan Execution
Re-entry of the ISS into the atmosphere will occur in January 2031. Once the spacecraft lowers its altitude, it will begin its descent to the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA) – a space cemetery. A re-entry burn will be performed by ISS operators, providing the final push to lower the ISS as low as possible and ensure a safe atmospheric entry.
Whats is Point Nemo? – A Space Graveyard
A NASA report said the ISS would fall to Earth in an area called the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area, also called Point Nemo. Reports estimated that the deorbit would occur in January 2031 based on their budget estimates. Point Nemo is the ocean’s farthest point from land, and it was a watery grave for a number of spacecraft in Jules Verne’s novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.”
Its remoteness makes it an ideal place for satellites and spacecraft to crash. This is also where the first space station in NASA’s history, Skylab, and Russia’s Mir space station were put to rest.
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Third Decade of ISS
ISS retirement is scheduled in 2031 but currently, it is in its third and most productive decade. The International Space Station is a world-class scientific platform in microgravity. In the next eight years, the ISS won’t rest on its laurels. As part of its report, NASA said that the ISS would serve as the “analog for a Mars transit mission” over the next decade.
NASA continues to build upon a successful global partnership in this third decade to develop technology to support deep space exploration, obtain medical and environmental benefits to humanity, and develop the basis for a commercial future in low-Earth orbit.
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What’s Next For ISS? – Know About Post ISS Era
NASA is focusing its efforts on Commercial Low Earth orbit Destinations (CLDs) following the rise of commercial spaceflight and ventures such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.
A seamless transition from ISS to one or more future CLDs is in the interests of the United States. This is in order to ensure that no gap in the government’s ability to use low Earth orbit space platforms exists.
Because NASA is utilizing a private-sector-led business model, the CLDs should be efficient and cost-effective; and, with fewer replacement parts and spares, transportation costs will be reduced.
By transitioning from operating a space station to renting space and equipment onboard commercial platforms, NASA expects to save $1.3 billion in 2031 and up to $1.8 billion by 2033.
With this amount, NASA can invest in its deep space exploration initiatives, allowing it to travel deeper and faster into deep space.
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International Space Station Retirement – Conclusion
Internation Space Station is not permanent. It has to retire one day and that is decided now. However, Chinese astronauts have long been barred from the ISS. The country launched the first module of its space station last year, and it is expected to be fully operational by year’s end. On the other hand, Russia already announced that it would leave the International Space Station project in 2025 and would build its own station by 2030.
ISS Retirement FAQs
NASA plans to retire the International Space Station in 2031.
The re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere will occur in January 2031 and it will eventually plunge into South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area also known as Point Nemo.
The major portion of oxygen comes from a process called electrolysis, in which electricity from ISS solar panels is used to break down water molecules into Hydrogen and Oxygen gas.
The ISS is about 356 feet (109 meters) end-to-end.
NASA is planning to launch more and more Commercial Low Earth orbit Destinations (CLDs) post ISS retirement.
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