The International Space Station’s final nine years are going to be busy. NASA just released a report outlining the big-picture goals for the rest of the orbiting lab’s operational life, which is expected to end with a controlled deorbit in January 2031.
NASA just released a report outlining the big-picture goals for the rest of the orbiting lab’s operational life, which is expected to end with a controlled deorbit in January 2031.
“This third decade is one of results, building on our successful global partnership to verify exploration and human research technologies to support deep space exploration, continue to return medical and environmental benefits to humanity, and lay the groundwork for a commercial future in low-Earth orbit,” Gatens added. “We look forward to maximizing these returns from the space station through 2030 while planning for transition to commercial space destinations that will follow.
The agency has said that it wants at least one of these private outposts to be up and running before the ISS is decommissioned, so that there’s no gap in orbital research. Such work is needed to prepare for ambitious efforts like a crewed missions to Mars, which NASA aims to pull off in the 2030s. The second phase in this plan will be similar to the approach NASA has taken with private crew transportation services to and from the ISS, according to the report. In 2014, the agency awarded multibillion-dollar contracts to both SpaceX and Boeing. SpaceX has gotten up and running, launching multiple crewed missions to and from orbit with its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule since May 2020.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Crashing Nemo: NASA plans watery end for space station in 2031NASA will aim for a remote stretch of the Pacific Ocean nicknamed the 'Spacecraft Cemetery' because it's a frequent target to safely de-orbit defunct spacecraft.
Read more »
NASA plans to crash International Space Station into Pacific Ocean in 2031NASA says that once it decommissions the International Space Station in 2031, it plans to return the 30-year-old module to the Earth by crashing it into the Pacific Ocean,
Read more »
NASA Details Its Plan for the End of the International Space Station in 2031 - Universe TodayNASA says it plans to plunge the vestiges of the International Space Station into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo in early 2031, after passing the baton to commercial space stations. In an updated transition report just delivered to Congress, the space agency detailed the endgame for the space station, … Continue reading 'NASA Details Its Plan for the End of the International Space Station in 2031'
Read more »
NASA plans to retire International Space Station by crashing it on EarthHow long has the ISS been in orbit? NASA said it plans to crash the International Space Station into Point Nemo, a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
Read more »
NASA Space Place Art Challenge! | NASA Space Place – NASA Science for KidsWhat do you think a superhero powered by the Sun would look like? Draw us a picture and tell us all about them for a chance to be featured by NASASpacePlace. After all, a super star needs a superhero:
Read more »
NASA hopes James Webb Space Telescope will unlock secrets of 'super-Earths' and hot rocky worldsThe observatory will focus on planets we sometimes can't find close to home.
Read more »