Historic structures, like Alexander Graham Bell’s residence in Nova Scotia, are commonly transformed into museums or national historic venues to safeguard their legacy for future generations. But how do you safeguard a structure the size of a football field that orbits 400 kilometers above the Earth?
NASA’s official strategy involves deorbiting the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its life, intending to guide it in a controlled descent back into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will ultimately crash in a distant part of the ocean. However, this week, some U.S. Government members proposed legislation that urges NASA to reassess this plan and explore the feasibility of potentially storing the ISS in low Earth orbit instead.
Since 2000, the ISS has been continuously inhabited by numerous astronauts and cosmonauts from the U.S., Russia, Canada, Europe, and Japan. It was constructed piece by piece through 36 space shuttle flights and six Russian Proton and Soyuz launches.
Weighing over 400 metric tonnes, it stands as the most extensive scientific laboratory ever deployed into space, hosting countless experiments unique to a microgravity environment.
As its operational lifespan nears its end, NASA announced in January 2022 that the space station will be decommissioned in 2030 and deorbited in 2031. The current plan involves a SpaceX-provided rocket propelling it on a crash course through the atmosphere, where it will disintegrate over a remote Pacific area.
However, some individuals are not convinced of this plan. On February 4, U.S. Rep. George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff, presented a proposal to the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, urging an exploration of alternative options before committing the ISS to destruction. The proposal received bipartisan support in the initial stage.
“The International Space Station is one of the most intricate engineering accomplishments in human history,” Whitesides emphasized before the committee. He questioned the necessity for thoroughly examining the possibility of preserving it in orbit for potential future utilization.
Yet, the solution is far from straightforward. The ISS cannot be left unattended for extended periods, as the station experiences atmospheric drag that gradually lowers its orbit. Failure to regularly boost it back up could lead to an uncontrolled descent to Earth, as seen with Skylab in 1979.
Boosting the ISS to a higher orbit poses challenges due to fuel requirements and structural stresses. NASA warns that a higher orbit would elevate collision risks with space debris, potentially rendering low Earth orbit inaccessible for centuries.
Despite efforts to seek private sector interest in the ISS, no viable proposals have emerged. Consequently, maintaining the current station is deemed less practical than building new space structures.
While NASA shifts its focus to lunar and Martian missions, the era of orbiting space stations is not over. China’s Tiangong station is operational, and private entities plan to launch their own space stations, including Haven-1. Ambitious proposals for colossal space hotels further demonstrate the evolving landscape of space exploration.
Rep. Whitesides’ bill remains in progress, with NASA tasked to explore alternate ideas. Considering the challenges and expenses of preserving the ISS as a heritage site, the likelihood remains that after three decades of service, the world’s most extensive and costly space laboratory will meet its end in the upper atmosphere and ocean depths, unless a superior solution emerges.