NASA plans to disintegrate the International Space Station with a machine capable of exterminating it without causing damage to Earth with its remains.
NASA wants to completely destroy the International Space Station ( ISS ) using a wrecking machine of cosmic proportions to completely disintegrate it, including its remains, so as not to wreak havoc on the Earth’s surface. The space agency revealed that the platform on which scientists and astronauts who study the confines of our galaxy converge has its days numbered.
Through a document called “Capacity to deorbit the International Space Station” published on its website, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has requested ideas and projects for the development of such a complex and transcendental task, in addition to including a list of the requirements to be met.
Under this measure, aerospace manufacturing companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing and Lockheed Martin – to name just a few – will have the opportunity to submit their proposals based on a plethora of questions related to the design of the space vehicle that will be the axis of this operation.
The International Space Station with the days numbered
NASA ‘s mission is that the space vehicle created based on the design proposals of the interested companies is anchored to the front port of the “Node 2” of the International Space Station one year before the execution of its total destruction. The ISS will carry out a controlled descent to an altitude of 220 kilometers with the help of chemical propellants and the friction of the Earth’s atmosphere .
Upon reaching 220 kilometers, the shoot-down spacecraft will fire its rockets with the goal of placing the International Space Station in an elliptical orbit with diameters of 145 x 200 km. After this, the vehicle will activate its thrusters to reduce the perigee by about 50 km and, from there, the Earth’s atmosphere will disintegrate both the ISS and the vehicle over the Pacific Ocean without the risk of anyone being hurt by the debris.
NASA’s plans for the International Space Station
In the document, the space agency provides some other details for manufacturing companies to consider when designing and presenting their projects. As mentioned, the ship must be in orbit for about twelve months before the year 2031, the date on which the International Space Station will cease to exist.
The deadline for submitting proposals ends on September 9 and NASA will begin a selection process to obtain the final design from then on. Likewise, the agency seeks to reuse the plans of the ship for other orbital operations in the future since, in this way, it could transfer objects in orbit with ease and safety.