By the year 2030, NASA plans to officially shut down the International Space Station.
After two decades of orbiting Earth, the ISS will be decommissioned, deorbited and destroyed – marking the end of an era in space exploration.
Although, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk want this done sooner as he believes the ISS has outlived its usefulness.
Taking to X, Musk wrote: “It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the Space_Station It has served its purpose.”
He then responded to a comment on the post, adding: “My recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now.”
Leaving the ISS floating in orbit isn’t an option. In June last year, the US space agency awarded SpaceX a $1 billion (£778 million) contract to help destroy the ISS safely.
But just how exactly will bringing down the largest object ever constructed in orbit go down?
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“The ISS could break apart and create a lot of fragments and debris,” says Professor John Crassidis, an expert on space debris from University at Buffalo, New York.
“That debris could hit other debris and we end up with something called Kessler Syndrome.” This chain reaction could create more collisions, potentially wiping out our communication satellites and making future space missions nearly impossible.
Starting in 2026, the station will naturally sink from 400km (248 miles) to 320km (199 miles) due to Earth’s atmosphere.
About six months before re-entry, astronauts will abandon the station, leaving it unmanned for the first time in over 25 years. Once the ISS reaches 280km (174 miles), a SpaceX-designed tug (adapted from the Dragon capsule) will push it further down to 220km (137 miles). Here, the thicker atmosphere will take over and rob the outpost of its remaining orbital energy.
As the ISS plunges through the atmosphere, intense friction will tear it apart. “The solar panels will be the first to separate and break up,” noted Crassidis.
However, not every part of the ISS will be incinerated.
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Some of its heavier components, like the truss segments, may survive re-entry and land in the ocean. As such, mission controllers will need to ensure that the remaining debris is as far away from people as possible. They agreed on a remote part of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo.
This ‘spacecraft cemetery’ claimed its name since becoming the final resting place for hundreds of decommissioned spacecraft, including Russia’s Mir space station, which was brought down in 2001. The closest land to the site is Motu Nui, a tiny volcanic island near Easter Island, sitting over 2,700km (1,678 miles) away.
Within an hour, whatever remains of the ISS will sink to the seafloor, having crashed into the ocean at a few hundred miles per hour.
But dumping space hardware parts in the ocean doesn’t come without risk.
Some NASA experts argue that toxic and radioactive materials could survive re-entry and leak into the Pacific. Not only that but the act of dumping the ISS could violate United Nations environmental laws, which require nations to ‘protect and preserve the marine environment.’
But, unless a better solution comes about, NASA and SpaceX are moving forward with their current plan to bring the ISS down as safely as possible.
Featured Image Credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT / Contributor / Getty
‘Stranded’ NASA astronaut says Elon Musk is wrong on $800,000,000 mission to destroy International Space Station
Elon Musk suggests deorbiting the International Space Station, but is it the right time to do it?
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has suggested deorbiting the International Space Station within two years.
NASA has plans to crash the space station into the Pacific Ocean, which they aim to be done by the end of this decade, of which they have awarded a contract for $843 million to Musk’s SpaceX.
Although NASA have stated they want to deorbit the space station by the end of the decade, Musk is now suggesting he would like to deorbit the ISS within as little as two years.
As part of the mission to bring down the ISS, SpaceX will be developing a U.S. Deorbit vehicle that will be used to crash the space station back down to earth, where following a controlled re-entry, it should land safely in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.
While Musk has publicly stated that the International Space Station “has very little incremental utility.” stranded NASA astronaut Sunita Williams disagrees, claiming now isn’t the right time to get rid of the space station. Not only has Williams argued that the ISS shouldn’t be destroyed before 2030, she has also stated, “This place is ticking. It’s just really amazing. So I would say we’re actually in our prime right now.”.
Captain Sunita Williams (Joe Scarnici / Getty)
Contrary to Musk’s statement about the station having served its purpose, Williams has suggested that NASA would be wasting tax payers money by not allowing the “word class science that this laboratory is capable of” to continue.
Suntia Williams is one of two stranded NASA astronauts currently stranded on the International Space Station. Williams and her fellow stranded astronaut Butch Wilmore were delayed in retuning home to earth following a technical glitch in Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, but are expected to finally return home at the end of this month.
NASA’s Boeing CST-100 Starliner Spacecraft (Paul Hennessy / Getty)
The ISS was originally launched back in November 1998 and has since grown to an impressive 16 modules, weighing more than a whopping 4,30,000 kg.
Due to the sheer size of the space station, the mission requires careful planning and precision to make sure the stations orbit is slowly lowered and steered away from populated areas and into the ocean.
Elon Musk might be looking to take the space station out of commission within the next two years, but with so much planning and development required to pull it off, and Suntia Williams calling for him to hold off, there’s every chance the ISS could still be up in space until closer to NASA’s 2030 deadline.
Featured Image Credit: Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty
Butch Wilmore says he ‘believes’ Elon Musk after billionaire made shocking claim about ‘abandoned’ astronauts
Musks’ claims, according to Wilmore, are ‘absolutely factual’
There has seemingly been another twist near the end of the tale of the stranded astronauts, as Butch Wilmore has claimed that he ‘believes’ Elon Musk’s claims that they were ‘abandoned’ by the Biden administration, adding that Musk is ‘absolutely factual’.
Williams and Wilmore have been ‘stranded’ upon the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024, after what was supposed to be just an eight-day mission has now stretched over eight months and continues on.
At the heart of their delayed stay are issues with multiple spacecraft, as not only did their Boeing Starliner have faults but the SpaceX Crew-10 Dragon spacecraft that was scheduled to allow them to come back home has also experienced technical difficulties.
Williams and Wilmore have remained ‘stranded’ on the ISS since June 2024, awaiting their return to Earth (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
NASA protocol indicates that there must be a handover process for astronauts leaving the ISS, and subsequently the pair haven’t been able to return home because a new crew hasn’t yet been able to reach the station.
There have been multiple health concerns surrounding the stranded astronauts, as their ‘gaunt’ appearance worried many online and they themselves have expressed fears about their bodies upon returning to Earth.
However, shortly after he officially returned to presidency Donald Trump ordered SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to ‘go get’ Williams and Wilmore, indicating that they had been ‘abandoned’ by the previous Biden administration.
Musk himself has repeatedly reaffirmed these claims, indicating in a recent post on X that “the real issue is that [the Biden administration] did not want positive press for someone who supported Trump. That’s it. End of story.”
In a recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Musk also insinuated that the Biden administration was “extremely antagonistic” towards him and that their return “was pushed back for political reasons.”
While many, due to the information available regarding the technical issues with the spacecraft, disregarded the accusations made by both Musk and President Trump, Butch Wilmore himself has seemingly offered support to their claims.
As reported by Ars Technica, Wilmore was joined by Williams and Nick Hague in a press conference where, upon being asked whether Musk made an offer to bring them home last year, he had this to say:
“I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says, is absolutely factual,” adding that he “believes” Musk.
While that might seem quite cut and dry in offering a clear contradiction to the other previous information, it appears to not be as simple as it might initially seem.
Shortly after this bold statement Wilmore added: “We have no information on that, though, whatsoever; what was offered, what was not offered; who it was offered to, how that process went.”
Butch Wilmore has seemingly both confirmed and denied Musk’s accusations regarding the Biden administration (YouTube/NASA Video)
Additionally, earlier on in the press conference he indicated: “From my standpoint, politics is not playing into this at all.”
These clashing statements don’t quite paint the clear picture that some supporters of Trump and Musk are wanting it to be, and instead it reads as if Wilmore is simply expressing his support for the current administration and has no or little information regarding the decision making process behind the scenes.
He did illustrate that politics are a “part of life” and that they are “on board with it” though, adding later on: “I don’t know all those details, and I don’t think any of us really can give you the answer that maybe that you would be hoping for.”
Featured Image Credit: NASA
SpaceX announces new date to rescue ‘stranded’ astronauts after last mission was called off minutes before takeoff
Here’s hoping it’s third time lucky
While we don’t want to say Suni Williams and Buch Wilmore are ‘cursed’, it sometimes feels like some higher power doesn’t want the pair to leave the cold abyss of space.
The astronauts blasted off from Cape Canaveral in June 2024 aboard the Boeing Crew Flight Test, and while that mission had faced numerous delays of its own, Williams and Wilmore finally docked with the ISS on June 6.
Unfortunately for them, the planned eight-day mission has turned into an extended stay of 281 days on the ISS…with a few more still to go.
Although Williams insists they aren’t ‘stranded’, the tale of two ‘stranded’ astronauts has been grabbing headlines ever since, with President Donald Trump even telling Elon Musk to go get them. Alongside wild theories that they’ve forged a romance up in the stars, there are complaints that they’ve been used as political pawns, and NASA has explained why they weren’t rescued earlier. Still, Williams and Wilmore likely don’t know about the media storm they sit at the center of.
The Crew-10 astronauts are expected to replace Williams and Wilmore on the ISS (SpaceX)
SpaceX had originally planned to launch the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on March 12, with the Crew-10 team replacing Williams, Wilmore, and fellow ISS crew members Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov.
Following a couple of days handover, Williams and Wilmore were finally due back on Earth on SpaceX has now confirmed the next attempt will happen “no earlier than Friday”, meaning today March 16, but with the SpaceX mission pulling the plug less than an hour before blastoff, the whole schedule has been shunted back a few days.
(March 14) is one to keep an eye on.
The latest post suggests things are still on track for a March 14 launch, and with a two-day delay, it means Williams and Wilmore could be returning home on March 18.
With the eyes of the world on NASA and SpaceX, a landing page for the launch explains: “Launch is targeted for 7:03 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available on Saturday, March 15 at 6:41 p.m. ET”
A live webcast will start 80 minutes before liftoff, with audiences able to watch from the site, using the new X TV app, or via the @SpaceX account on X.
NASA confirmed that the March 12 launch was delayed due to a hydraulic system issue involving a ground support clamp arm for the Falcon 9 rocket, which was then followed by adverse weather conditions scuppering a potential March 13 launch.
When they eventually return home, Williams and Wilmore are expected to be rushed off on stretchers and put into a ‘brutal’ rehab regime, although we’re sure they’ll be glad to be back.
Here’s hoping it’s third time lucky with the Crew-10 launch, and even though all of this is subject to change, we’re one step closer to Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s long-awaited return to Earth.
Featured Image Credit: NASA / Handout / Getty
SpaceX’s huge setback that led to delay in rescue mission of ‘stranded astronauts’ on the ISS
A late twist has further delayed the stranded astronauts’ return to Earth
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was forcibly delayed right before it was about to take off, preventing the rescue mission from commencing and once again delaying the return of stranded astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station (ISS).
Turns out that even when you’ve got the go-ahead and think that you’re ready to complete a long-awaited space launch, things can still go wrong and delay the procedure at the last minute.
The Falcon 9 launch was aborted at the last minute due to issues with the landing pad (X/@SpaceX)
Following US President Donald Trump’s request for Elon Musk to ‘go get’ stranded pair Williams and Wilmore from the ISS, the SpaceX CEO has incessantly pushed the blame for delays on the Biden administration.
He indicated that the last government was ‘extremely antagonistic’ towards his private space company, yet delays continue to push back the return date that those on the International Space Station have been waiting over nine months for.
Although it was supposed to be just an eight day mission, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been ‘stranded’ upon the ISS since June last year after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft experienced issues.
The Starliner was ordered to return to Earth without passengers, and their retrieval was transferred over to SpaceX, with Musk’s company now taking responsibility.
However, issues with their very own Crew-10 mission continued to delay the rescue, and it looks like things still aren’t ready to go, despite four astronauts sat in their seats ready for takeoff.
As reported by the Mirror, plans for takeoff at the Kennedy Space Center were scrapped following a problem identified with the launch pad and critical hydraulic system, and a SpaceX commentator indicated that the launch won’t go ahead “unless we know we can do so safely and reliably.”
Precautions are vitally important just under a week after the company’s Starship 8 test launch saw the rocket burst into flames before crashing back down onto Earth.
Following the delay, SpaceX has announced that they are targeting “no earlier than Friday, March 14 for Falcon 9’s launch of Dragon’s 10th operational human spaceflight mission,” with a reserve backup also scheduled for the day after in case there are any further issues.
Many on social media are offering wishes of safety and good luck for this second launch attempt, and hopefully it will go off without any issues, letting Crew-10 begin operations and returning Williams and Wilmore from their extended stay.
Unfortunately for the ‘stranded’ pair, they won’t be able to immediately return to normal life as they will be immediately transferred to a medical rehabilitation center where they will undergo physical tests for around six weeks.
This is due to the effect that such a lengthy stay in space has on the body, as even strenuous daily exercise isn’t enough to avoid muscle loss, making simple actions like learning to walk again challenging for astronauts.