The International Space Station has been a haven for hundreds of astronauts over the last 23 years. But its days are numbered.
On Wednesday, NASA and SpaceX shared new details about their plan, which involves a superpowered, extra-large Dragon spaceship that can push the ISS out of orbit and into a fiery plummet to a remote ocean grave, probably in 2031.
SpaceX’s Dragon spaceships currently shuttle NASA astronauts and cargo to and from the ISS. Compared to the ISS, though, which weighs about 925,000 pounds, astronauts and cargo are extremely light.
That’s why SpaceX is looking into supercharging one of its Dragons for the job.
How SpaceX plans to scrap the ISS
SpaceX plans to outfit an existing Cargo Dragon with a new high-powered trunk and supercharge it with 46 Draco engines, which is 30 more engines than a regular Dragon.
The resulting “deorbit vehicle” will be about twice as long as a regular Dragon ship, with six times as much propellant to produce four times the power.
SpaceX posted on X an illustration of what its upgraded Dragon may look like:
SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management, Sarah Walker, said the most complex part of the mission will be the final burn that pushes the ISS on course toward its final descent.
“This burn must be powerful enough to fly the entire space station, all the while resisting the torques and forces caused by increasing atmospheric drag on the space station to ensure that it ultimately terminates in the intended location,” Walker said in a briefing on Wednesday.
The ISS’s final destination will be in a remote part of the ocean, such as the South Pacific, but NASA has not chosen a precise location yet. When the football field-sized spacecraft comes screaming down, NASA wants no risk of it hitting anywhere but the open ocean.
A new chapter in space exploration
Walker said the opportunity to help end this significant chapter in space exploration is an honor.
“It’s a wonderful full circle experience, I think, for me and for SpaceX,” Walker said in a briefing on Wednesday.
In 2012, Dragon became the first commercial vehicle to dock with the ISS and, if all goes according to plan, it’ll be the last vehicle to ever dock with the station.
“I can’t stress enough how honored we are to be a part of that step,” Walker said.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship became the first commercial spacecraft to dock to the space station in 2012.
Andre Kuipers/NASA
NASA considered doing the job with three Russian Progress spacecraft, but even that wasn’t enough for the size of the space station, according to Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s ISS program.
NASA and its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, plan to continue using the ISS until 2030, when both agencies intend to go their separate ways and transition to new space stations. NASA hopes to be one of many customers on private space stations in the future.
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