Will the International Space Station be replaced before its fiery death in 2030?

NASA plans to send the International Space Station (ISS) into Earth's atmosphere by 2030, and there are no plans for a replacement.

On September 17th, US time, the US publication "Space News" published an article by expert Paul Sutter, which he shared with everyone.

In 1979, NASA's first space station, Skylab, fell back to Earth.

The original plan was to let it fall into the Indian Ocean, but it entered the atmosphere deeper than anyone expected.

Finally, when the laboratory disintegrated, the debris reached as far as Western Australia.

Australia issued a $400 fine to NASA for littering.

The fine has never been paid.

This was technically a humorous irony,

In 2009, a California radio host raised funds to pay the fine.

This highlights how we let a space station fall to Earth without a backup station to replace it.

Almost half a century later, the United States is facing another situation where a space station may disappear,

and the United States is not yet prepared for a replacement.

However, this time NASA at least has a near-plan: to have someone else build it.

Currently occupying NASA's time and budget is the design of the Lunar Gateway, a smaller version of the ISS,

intended to orbit the Moon and serve as a hub for extended surface missions.

Although the Lunar Gateway continues to receive congressional support, its political future remains uncertain,

as it is part of the overall Artemis program, which may not achieve all its expected goals.

Regardless, NASA has basically given up on operating in low Earth orbit.

Instead, the space agency has developed a competitive system called the Commercial LEO Destination Program,

to help promote private investment in space stations.

The idea is that NASA will fund private companies to create their own space stations,

then become one of many customers renting space on these stations.

This way, NASA does not have to bear the burden of creating another space station.

There are several competitors in this field, including Orbital Reef, a joint venture led by Blue Origin and Sierra Space;

and Star Lab, a joint venture between Explorers Technology and Airbus.

But the clear leader is Axiom Space, with the first module of the Axiom Station about to be completed.

Axiom plans to launch the module on a Falcon Heavy rocket,

and attach it to the International Space Station in 2027, at which point the company will begin familiarizing itself with the care and maintenance of the station.

Then, it is expected that Axiom will detach the module from the International Space Station before 2030 and continue expanding it,

with the goal of reaching twice the volume of the current space station.

Axiom has already sent private astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, to practice ground personnel communication and scientific experiments.

If Axiom or one of its competitors succeeds,

then the United States will indeed have another continuously existing space station in low Earth orbit,

although this time it will involve more partners than the historic International Space Station.

NASA has already achieved success through a similar project - the Commercial Crew Program,

which promoted and funded the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft,

both of which now serve both private and government projects.

If lucky, they will avoid the fate of Skylab,

and avoid the decades-long gap between its ignoble end and the launch of the ISS.

Reference: Paul Sutter

“Will the International Space Station be replaced before its fiery death in 2030?”

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843550633611276/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.