What goes up….

The International Space Station (ISS), a collaborative project involving 23 countries, is set to be decommissioned around 2030. The challenge lies in safely bringing down the massive structure, weighing 420,000 kilograms, without causing harm or leaving debris that could render low Earth orbit uninhabitable. Various options, such as preserving it as a space museum or dismantling it for future use, have been considered, but NASA's white paper suggests that neither option is feasible. The process of deorbiting the ISS involves carefully controlling its descent and relying on atmospheric drag, but it carries risks and uncertainties. The future of international collaboration in space, particularly between the US and Russia, is uncertain, and the rise of private companies like SpaceX may shape the next phase of space exploration. [Extracted from the article]