The International Space Station was launched in 1998, and by now it seems like it was always there. But all good things must come to an end, and the ISS will be decommissioned in 2030. Then what? Because the space station is in a relatively low orbit, it currently has to be boosted on a regular basis to keep it from falling to earth. Once it is abandoned, it must be destroyed. This week, NASA released their plan for bringing the ISS back down to earth safely.
In January of 2031, the ISS will be "de-orbited" with the aim of crashing it into the Pacific Ocean at a place called Point Nemo, which is also the “Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility” because it is 2,700 miles from any land, and therefore void of shipping traffic. This spot is the traditional graveyard of space debris.
So what happens to our space program after the ISS is gone? NASA will rent space on private commercial spacecraft for their research. Read more about the plan at The Guardian. -via Damn Interesting
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