International Space Station Set to Plunge to Earth

WASHINGTON — NASA plans to burn the International Space Station in Earth’s atmosphere, before allowing the unburnt parts to crash into the ocean.

Here are the details: The BBC reports that NASA is preparing to burn up the International Space Station and letting the unburnt remains crash into a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

The news comes after the Biden administration said it had committed to extend the space station's activities until 2030.

NASA says the first part of the station’s termination will be to use the aging hulk as a platform for testing the modules that private companies will use to build their own private space stations.

Work on the ISS will continue as usual until 2030, but from 2026 the station will be allowed to gradually lose altitude.

Between June and November of 2030, three additional uncrewed cargo ships will dock with the station and use their engines to slow it down.

When the station reaches an altitude of 280 kilometers it will pass the point of no return, from where it won’t be able to return to a safe orbit.

It will then drop into Earth’s atmosphere, where most of it will burn up, with the remaining parts falling to Earth.

NASA plans to time the station’s descent so that the remaining parts will crash in the most remote part of the South Pacific.

NASA says it will save $1.3 billion by using private companies to provide platforms and astronauts for activities in low-Earth orbit.

NASA says this money can then be spent on the exploration of deep space.