SpaceX will destroy the International Space Station

Cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy performs maintenance work on the International Space Station in 2013. (Photo: NASA).

On June 25, NASA announced that SpaceX, the company of technology billionaire Elon Musk, was awarded a contract worth 843 million USD to design and manufacture the US Deorbit Vehicle spacecraft with a special mission.

Astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines planting trees on the ISS in 2022. (Photo: NASA).

Once SpaceX completes production, the ship will be handed over to NASA, which will take full control of its operations.

The ISS weighs 430,000 kg and is the largest single structure ever built in space.

A photo of the ISS taken by SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft in 2021. (Photo: NASA).

Based on previous assessments of space stations like Mir and Skylab, NASA predicts the ISS will break up in three stages.

First, the giant solar panels and heat sinks will shut down, then individual modules will separate from the station's backbone structure. Finally, the backbone and modules will disintegrate.

Part of the solar panels above the aurora borealis in 2012, photographed from the ISS. (Photo: NASA).

Most of the parts would evaporate, except for the larger pieces. So NASA plans to target Point Nemo in the Pacific Ocean for these pieces to fall, as the location is one of the most remote places on earth and is known as the graveyard of satellites and spacecraft.

Astronauts Robert L. Curbeam Jr. and Christer Fuglesang perform an activity outside the ISS. (Photo: NASA).

The first part of the ISS was launched into space in 1998 and since 2001 it has always been home to crews.

The US, Japan, Canada and member states of the European Space Agency (ESA) have committed to operating the ISS microgravity laboratory until 2030, while Russia has only committed to operating it until 2028.

Several companies are working on commercial alternatives to the ISS, including Axiom Space and entrepreneur Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/spacex-se-pha-huy-tram-vu-tru-quoc-te-20240629020702242.htm