Historic structures, like Alexander Graham Bell’s residence in Nova Scotia, are often transformed into museums or national historic sites to safeguard their legacy for future generations. But how does one preserve a structure the size of a football field orbiting 400 kilometers above Earth?
NASA’s official strategy is to deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its operational life, leading to a controlled reentry where it will crash into a remote part of the ocean. However, recent legislative efforts by some U.S. Government members urge NASA to explore the possibility of storing the ISS in low Earth orbit instead.
Since its inception in 2000, the ISS has hosted numerous astronauts from the U.S., Russia, Canada, Europe, and Japan. It was assembled incrementally through multiple space shuttle flights and Russian launches. Weighing over 400 metric tonnes, it stands as the largest scientific laboratory ever launched into space, conducting countless experiments in a microgravity environment.
With its operational life nearing its end, NASA announced in January 2022 that the ISS will be decommissioned in 2030 and deorbited in 2031. The current plan entails utilizing a SpaceX rocket to guide the ISS on a path through the atmosphere, ultimately disintegrating over the Pacific. This echoes the fate of its predecessor, the Russian Space Station MIR, which plunged into the Pacific in 2001.
However, some challenges lie ahead. U.S. Rep. George Whitesides proposed investigating alternative options before committing the ISS to destruction. The complexity of the ISS poses hurdles, as it must be regularly boosted to prevent an uncontrolled reentry due to atmospheric drag, akin to the fate of Skylab in 1979.
While boosting the ISS to a higher orbit is a consideration, it poses risks of collision with space debris and requires substantial resources. Maintenance is another critical aspect, as neglect could render the station inoperable over time. Despite efforts to find new operators, sustaining the ISS proves costly compared to building new space stations.
Although NASA shifts focus towards lunar and Martian missions, other space stations like China’s Tiangong and private projects like Haven-1 are emerging. Ambitious concepts such as giant space hotels are also on the horizon. Rep. Whitesides’ proposal aims to explore these possibilities, yet the fate of the ISS, with its rich history and high costs, may likely end with a fiery reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere and ocean depths unless a superior solution arises.
