Nasa has selected Elon Musk's SpaceX company to bring down the International Space Station at the end of its life. The California-based company will build a vehicle capable of pushing the 430-tonne orbiting platform into the Pacific Ocean early in the next decade. A contract for the work, valued at up to $843m (£668m), was announced on Wednesday.
The first elements of the space station were launched in 1998, with continuous crewed operations beginning in 2000. The station circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude just above 400km (250 miles) and has been home to thousands of scientific experiments, investigating all manner of phenomena from the aging process in humans to the formula for new types of materials.
Engineers say the laboratory remains structurally sound, but plans need to be put in place now for its eventual disposal. Without assistance, it would eventually fall back to Earth on its own, however this poses a significant risk to populations on the ground.
"Selecting a US De-orbit Vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS) will help Nasa and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports Nasa's plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth," Ken Bowersox, the agency's director of space operations, said in a statement.
The US and Russia lead the ISS project. Europe, Canada and Japan play supporting roles. The western partners have all agreed to fund the station through 2030; Russia says its involvement will extend until at least 2028.
Since its first modules launched at the end of 1998, the International Space Station has been orbiting 250 miles above Earth. But at the end of 2030, NASA plans to crash the ISS into the ocean after it is replaced with a new space station, a reminder that nothing within Earth's orbit can stay in space forever.
more at this BBC link. And the ISS will be replaced.
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FEBRUARY 21, 2024
Since its first modules launched at the end of 1998, the International Space Station has been orbiting 250 miles above Earth. But at the end of 2030, NASA plans to crash the ISS into the ocean after it is replaced with a new space station, a reminder that nothing within Earth's orbit can stay in space forever.
NASA is collaborating on developing a space station owned, built, and operated by a private company — either Axiom Space, Voyager Space, or Blue Origin. NASA is giving each company hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and sharing their expertise with them.
Eventually, they will select one company to officially partner with and have them replace the ISS. NASA says this will help them focus on deep space exploration, which they consider a much more difficult task.
But any company that is able to develop their own space station, get approval from the federal government and launch it into space will be able to pursue their own deep space missions – even without the approval of NASA.
Phil McCalister, director of the Commercial Space Division of NASA, told NPR's Morning Edition that NASA does not want to own in perpetuity everything in low-Earth orbit – which is up to 1,200 miles above Earth's surface.
"We want to turn those things over to other organizations that could potentially do it more cost-effectively, and then focus our research and activities on deep space exploration," said McCalister.
McCalister says the ISS could stay in space longer, but it's much more cost-effective for NASA to acquire a brand new station with new technology. NASA would then transition to purchasing services from commercial entities as opposed to the government building a next-generation commercial space station.
the rest at this NPR link. Rather surprised that SpaceX was not in the running for this one, but, you know, Mars....
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