NASA has announced that the International Space Station (ISS) will be decommissioned and de-orbited by 2031, marking the end of a significant chapter in space exploration.
SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has been awarded a $1.26 billion contract to guide the ISS out of orbit safely.
The ISS has been a symbol of international cooperation and scientific achievement for over two decades.
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So, why is the International Space Station going to be destroyed?
On today’s The Briefing, we talked to Dr Rebecca Allen, Co-Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University, exploring the reason behind the decommissioning of ISS and the potential risk associated with this operation.
Dr Allen said that since the launch of the ISS, it has hosted more than 270 astronauts from 20 countries, contributing to invaluable research in space.
“The station has endured significant wear and tear, and our space technology has advanced considerably since its inception,” she said.
SpaceX’s mission to de-orbit the ISS involves creating a craft to gently guide the massive 450-tonne structure through a controlled descent.
Dr Allen said the operation would be challenging and complex as it must avoid the myriad of satellites orbiting Earth.
“Now the thinking is that SpaceX will create a craft that will gently guide the entire station to slowly de-orbit, which is another issue because we have satellites continuously orbiting the Earth,” she added.
“So that’s going to be a very tricky dance.”
The decommissioning of the ISS also raises questions about the future of international space collaboration.
Currently, the Chinese space station Tiangong is the only other operational space station.
“Countries come together because no one country can really do it by itself. They really just couldn’t at the time, especially when it was built and first launched.”
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