NASA has launched a call to manufacturers to build a vessel that will dismantle the space station, which is scheduled to end in 2030. It has long been known that this enormous structure in orbit will be difficult to deorbit. A risky operation.
Mathilde Fontez, editor-in-chief of the scientific magazine Epsiloon, explains to us today that NASA has just published a call for tenders for a spacecraft that will deorbit the International Space Station, built in 1998.
franceinfo: What type of spaceship are we talking about?
Mathilde Fontez: The ship is called “US Deorbit Vehicle”. THE technical file was published on September 18. And manufacturers have until November 17 to apply to build it by 2030. This vessel will attach itself to the station, the ISS, and give it the necessary impulse to gradually lower its orbit, until it enters the atmosphere and burns, under the effect of speed.
The end of the ISS is therefore truly decided…
All the countries participating in this orbiting adventure agree, yes: Europe, Canada, Japan, Russia and NASA, have each committed until 2030, not beyond – 2028 for Russia. This time, it’s probably the end.
There have already been many postponements. The station is aging – it was originally planned for 15 years. Its construction began in 1998. And it is very expensive: around 150 billion dollars in total. NASA is already seeking to reduce costs by renting it for commercial research activities or tourist activities – for example, this Hollywood film with Tom Cruise, which should be, in part, filmed in orbit.
Deorbiting such a machine should not be so obvious…
Yes, it is in any case a risky operation. This station is a monstrous machine: it is the size of an American football field: 109 meters long; it weighs 450 tonnes. Even at high speeds, it will not completely disintegrate in the atmosphere. There will be debris, it must not fall on a populated area!
Has the drop-off point been determined?
Yes, this is Spot Nemo: the graveyard of space debris. It is a place in the Pacific Ocean, considered the furthest from any civilization, 2,700 kilometers from any land – the humans closest to this place are the astronauts of the station, when they pass through on it, from time to time, 400 kilometers away. Aiming for Point Nemo, taking into account the dynamics of the immense debris trail that the station should cause when it falls, is going to be a real challenge.
Will other agencies participate in this operation?
The first deorbit plan heavily involved the Russians, since it involved using three of their Progress cargo ships. But NASA’s call for tenders today shows the American agency’s desire to secure the operation. The war in Ukraine did not stop collaboration in the ISS, but it strained relations. The United States therefore decided that it was better to be autonomous.