■ Decommissing the International Space Station
✅NASA plans to decommission the International Space Station (ISS) by 2031.
● What is the ISS?
✅The ISS was launched in 1998 as part of joint efforts by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.
✅It operates in low-earth orbit.
✅The ISS has served as a laboratory suspended in space and has aided multiple scientific and technological developments.
✅ISS has consistently maintained a human presence for the past 21 years, providing astronauts with sophisticated technologies for scientific research.
● Why is NASA planning to decommission the ISS?
✅The space station has already surpassed that checkpoint of 15 years by being active for 21 years, with plans to continue operations till 2030.
✅However, the limitations on the life-cycle of the station are catching up. The ISS goes through 16 rotations of the earth per day, causing extreme temperature changes on the exterior.
✅The side facing the sun can get heated up to 121°C While the temperature on the opposite, darker side can fall to 157°C, causing intense expansion and contraction of the building material.
✅The orbital thermal cycling, coupled with dynamic loading, affects the longevity of the primary structure of the space station.
✅The technical lifetime is also limited by parts like radiators, modules and truss structures that tend to degrade over time.
● What is the procedure to de-orbit the ISS?
✅NASA plans to remove the ISS from its orbit around the earth and eventually plunge it into the ocean at a point farthest from human civilization.
✅The space agency will use the dual method of natural orbit decay and a re-entry maneuver to bring an end to the ISS.
✅According to the plan, the earth's natural atmospheric drag will be used in lowering the altitude of the ISS while
setting up the de-orbit.
✅The space station operators will then provide the final push to it to lower the structure to the maximum possible height and ensure safe re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, leading it to Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA).
✅The exterior of the modules is expected to melt while re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The exposed internal hardware is also expected to burn or vaporize during the process.
✅It is believed that denser components like the truss sections will survive the re-entry and fall into the SPOUA.
● Are there any environmental hazards associated with the plan?
✅NASA claims that the debris of the ISS that survives the re-entry will settle on the ocean floor and not cause any substantial long-term impact.
● What is the future of space stations?
✅As the ISS plans to end operations in space, new players are already lining up to replace it.
✅In January 2022, China announced that its space station will be ready for operations this year.
✅Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, has also announced its plans to build Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station in low-earth orbit. Blue Origin is working alongside Sierra Space on the project.
■ Decommissing the International Space Station
✅NASA plans to decommission the International Space Station (ISS) by 2031.
● What is the ISS?
✅The ISS was launched in 1998 as part of joint efforts by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.
✅It operates in low-earth orbit.
✅The ISS has served as a laboratory suspended in space and has aided multiple scientific and technological developments.
✅ISS has consistently maintained a human presence for the past 21 years, providing astronauts with sophisticated technologies for scientific research.
● Why is NASA planning to decommission the ISS?
✅The space station has already surpassed that checkpoint of 15 years by being active for 21 years, with plans to continue operations till 2030.
✅However, the limitations on the life-cycle of the station are catching up. The ISS goes through 16 rotations of the earth per day, causing extreme temperature changes on the exterior.
✅The side facing the sun can get heated up to 121°C While the temperature on the opposite, darker side can fall to 157°C, causing intense expansion and contraction of the building material.
✅The orbital thermal cycling, coupled with dynamic loading, affects the longevity of the primary structure of the space station.
✅The technical lifetime is also limited by parts like radiators, modules and truss structures that tend to degrade over time.
● What is the procedure to de-orbit the ISS?
✅NASA plans to remove the ISS from its orbit around the earth and eventually plunge it into the ocean at a point farthest from human civilization.
✅The space agency will use the dual method of natural orbit decay and a re-entry maneuver to bring an end to the ISS.
✅According to the plan, the earth's natural atmospheric drag will be used in lowering the altitude of the ISS while
setting up the de-orbit.
✅The space station operators will then provide the final push to it to lower the structure to the maximum possible height and ensure safe re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, leading it to Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA).
✅The exterior of the modules is expected to melt while re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The exposed internal hardware is also expected to burn or vaporize during the process.
✅It is believed that denser components like the truss sections will survive the re-entry and fall into the SPOUA.
● Are there any environmental hazards associated with the plan?
✅NASA claims that the debris of the ISS that survives the re-entry will settle on the ocean floor and not cause any substantial long-term impact.
● What is the future of space stations?
✅As the ISS plans to end operations in space, new players are already lining up to replace it.
✅In January 2022, China announced that its space station will be ready for operations this year.
✅Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, has also announced its plans to build Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station in low-earth orbit. Blue Origin is working alongside Sierra Space on the project.
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