The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced its plan to crash the International Space Station (ISS) into the Pacific Ocean in 2031, as it relinquishes the scientific laboratory and becomes reliant on commercially operated platforms.
NASA's newly published plans stated that the ISS will remain operational until the end of 2030, after which it will be brought back to earth and crashed into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo.
According to Nasa, the decision to decommission the ISS signals a shift to the commercial sector for activities in low-Earth orbit or space around Earth.
Nasa claimed that moving to the commercial sector for low-Earth orbit activities will save $1.3 billion (£956 million), money that can be spent on deep space exploration instead.
Director of commercial space at NASA, Phil McAlister in a statement said that commercially operated space platforms would replace the ISS as a venue for collaboration and scientific research.
"The private sector is technically and financially capable of developing and operating commercial low-Earth orbit destinations, with Nasa's assistance," said McAlister.
"We look forward to sharing our lessons learned and operations experience with the private sector to help them develop safe, reliable, and cost-effective destinations in space,"
"The report we have delivered to Congress describes, in detail, our comprehensive plan for ensuring a smooth transition to commercial destinations after the retirement of the International Space Station in 2030," he added.
NASA said that commercial operators, like Elon Musk's SpaceX, are expected to fill the gap left by the ISS.
Director of the ISS Robyn Gatens added that “The International Space Station is entering its third and most productive decade as a groundbreaking scientific platform in microgravity,"
"This third decade is one of the results, building on our successful global partnership to verify exploration and human research technologies to support deep space exploration, continue to return medical and environmental benefits to humanity, and lay the groundwork for a commercial future in low-Earth orbit,"
"We look forward to maximising these returns from the space station through 2030 while planning for transition to commercial space destinations that will follow," Robyn concluded.
0 Comment(s)