It’s been a home for astronauts for nearly 25 years, about 250 miles above the Earth’s surface.
But the International Space Station is due to be destroyed in 2030, and now NASA has firmed up its plans on how to do it.
The space agency has selected Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build a ‘space tug’ vehicle that will pull it back down towards Earth.
When the two reach Earth’s atmosphere they will burn up – but NASA expects the risk of debris raining down on us will be very small.
Whatever SpaceX’s tugger will look like, it will have to be unmanned to prevent any heroic Hollywood-style astronaut sacrificing themselves.
NASA has selected Elon Musk’s SpaceX to build a ‘space tug’ vehicle that will pull it back down towards Earth. When the two reach Earth’s atmosphere they will burn up – but NASA expects the risk of debris raining down on us will be very small
It would be a sorry end to the iconic ISS, which has been an orbiting laboratory and living quarters for astronauts from around the world since 2000.
‘Selecting a US Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,’ said NASA in a statement.
‘While the company will develop the deorbit spacecraft, NASA will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission.’
SpaceX has been given $843 million (£666 million) to design and build the ‘US Deorbit Vehicle’ vehicle, which could look similar to its Dragon series that transports crew and cargo.
The first step in NASA’s plan is to let the ISS begin to ‘decay’ in its orbit – meaning it’ll get naturally get closer to Earth due to our planet’s gravitational pull.
During this time, the atmospheric drag will reduce the orbit from around 250 miles above the surface to 200 miles – although this will take a few years to happen.
Underside view of the International Space Station (ISS) in November 2021, which maintains an orbit approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth
In 2030, the crew on the ISS will make the final descent to Earth and bring any crucial equipment with them.
The ISS will continue to move closer to Earth, reaching the ‘point of no return’ at 175 miles above the surface.
And this is where SpaceX’s tug vehicle will somehow have to tether itself to the ISS and pull it down towards the planet’s atmosphere.
It’s hoped the vast majority of the two spacecraft will be burnt up by the high temperatures in our atmosphere – but some could pass through it.
Dr James Blake, a space debris researcher at the University of Warwick, said the mission should ensure this material will hit the ocean rather than land.
‘While much of the structure is expected to separate and burn up upon re-entry to the Earth’s atmosphere, some dense or heat-resistant components (such as the truss that forms the backbone of the station) are likely to survive,’ Dr Blake told MailOnline.
‘However, NASA and partner agencies have opted for a controlled re-entry, which will mean that the re-entry will be targeted so as to ensure that any surviving fragments will splash down in an uninhabited region of the ocean, minimising the risk to people and property on land.’
According to the European Space Agency, the annual risk of any single human being even just injured by space debris is under one in 100 billion.
That’s about 1.5 million times lower than the risk of being killed in an accident at home and 65,000 times lower than the risk of being struck by lightning.
It follows several leaks of gas and coolant fluid from ISS in the past few years, including one from a mysterious hole allegedly made deliberately. Pictured, the ISS on June 7, 2024
Pictured, SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon approaching the ISS in 2020. SpaceX has already developed spacecraft that can transport crew and cargo to the space station
NASA is decommissioning the ISS at the start of next decade due to stresses on the structure that have accumulated over time, as well as ageing components.
The agency says: ‘International Space Station modules and major components have a specific power, data and structural architecture which may not be compatible with future platforms.’
It follows several leaks of gas and coolant fluid from ISS in the past few years, including one from a mysterious hole allegedly made deliberately.
Following calls to bring back the ISS to Earth safely for public display or to reuse parts, NASA called this ‘infeasible’ and a ‘very complex and costly’ process.
EXPLAINED: THE $100 BILLION INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SITS 250 MILES ABOVE THE EARTH
The International Space Station (ISS) is a $100 billion (£80 billion) science and engineering laboratory that orbits 250 miles (400 km) above Earth.
It has been permanently staffed by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since November 2000.
Crews have come mainly from the US and Russia, but the Japanese space agency JAXA and European space agency ESA have also sent astronauts.
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied for more than 20 years and has been expended with multiple new modules added and upgrades to systems
Research conducted aboard the ISS often requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit, such as low-gravity or oxygen.
ISS studies have investigated human research, space medicine, life sciences, physical sciences, astronomy and meteorology.
The US space agency, NASA, spends about $3 billion (£2.4 billion) a year on the space station program, with the remaining funding coming from international partners, including Europe, Russia and Japan.
So far 244 individuals from 19 countries have visited the station, and among them eight private citizens who spent up to $50 million for their visit.
There is an ongoing debate about the future of the station beyond 2025, when it is thought some of the original structure will reach ‘end of life’.
Russia, a major partner in the station, plans to launch its own orbital platform around then, with Axiom Space, a private firm, planning to send its own modules for purely commercial use to the station at the same time.
NASA, ESA, JAXA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) are working together to build a space station in orbit around the moon, and Russia and China are working on a similar project, that would also include a base on the surface.
