Historic structures, like Alexander Graham Bell’s residence in Nova Scotia, often transform into museums or national historic sites to safeguard their legacy for future generations. But what about preserving a colossal building 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 service life, guiding it on a controlled descent back into Earth’s atmosphere for a crash landing in a remote ocean area. However, recent legislative moves by some U.S. Government members urge NASA to explore storing the ISS in low Earth orbit as an alternative to its planned disposal.
Since 2000, the ISS has hosted numerous astronauts and cosmonauts from the U.S., Russia, Canada, Europe, and Japan, serving as a scientific laboratory assembled through multiple space shuttle and Russian launches. Weighing over 400 metric tonnes, it stands as the most extensive space laboratory ever launched, conducting various experiments unique to a microgravity setting.
Scheduled for decommissioning in 2030 and deorbiting in 2031, the ISS faces an inevitable fate of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, burning up over the Pacific Ocean. While this plan mirrors the fate of the Russian Space Station MIR in 2001, U.S. Rep. George Whitesides and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee are pushing to explore alternative scenarios before committing the ISS to destruction.
Preserving the ISS presents challenges, as neglecting it for too long could lead to an uncontrolled crash. Boosting it to a higher orbit for prolonged sustainability would demand substantial resources and pose collision risks with space debris. Additionally, the ISS’s complex structure necessitates continuous maintenance to prevent deterioration and ensure safety for occupants.
Despite NASA’s call for private sector interest in taking over the ISS, no feasible proposals have surfaced, making the maintenance of the existing station less viable than constructing new space facilities. As NASA shifts its focus to lunar and Martian exploration, other countries and private entities are already operating or planning their own space stations, hinting at a future beyond the ISS era.
While proposals for giant space hotels and innovative space habitats emerge, the fate of the ISS remains uncertain. Rep. Whitesides’ bill, though in its initial stages, seeks to explore alternative options for the ISS’s future, acknowledging the complexity and costs involved in preserving the iconic space laboratory. Ultimately, despite its historic significance and scientific contributions, the ISS’s fate of atmospheric incineration and ocean burial looms, unless a groundbreaking alternative emerges.