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As the largest international cooperation project in the history of human space exploration, the International Space Station has far-reaching impact on its technical level and scientific research achievements. However, as the expected service life approaches, how to deal with the decommissioning of this huge space device has become a major concern for all countries.
The ISS was built in collaboration with five major space agencies: the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, and construction began in 1998 and was completed in 2011. It was designed to last for 15 years, which has been extended several times and has now been extended to 2030. By then, the ISS will be in operation for 30 years and will face the problem of decommissioning.
As a choice between continued use and retirement, NASA finally chose to phase out the mission of the ISS around 2030 and retire it. This is mainly due to the increasing problem of aging system components of the space station, the increasing cost of maintenance, and the increasing safety risks of continued operation.
The first technical challenge for the decommissioning of the space station was how to safely decommission the more than 400-ton behemoth from low-Earth orbit without generating too much debris. NASA ultimately chose to commission the private space company SpaceX to carry out the decommissioning of the space station.
SpaceX needed to develop a specialized deorbiting vehicle that would use a combination of natural drag and engine thrust to gradually lower the space station's orbit and eventually control its fall in the South Pacific Ocean. The entire decommissioning process took several months, and the flight trajectory and speed control were very complex.
SpaceX is confident in this, as they have a proven track record of carrying cargo to the space station on several occasions. NASA also wanted to leverage the flexibility and innovation of commercial companies to accomplish this daunting task in a more cost-effective way.
However, the decommissioning of the space station also comes with safety risks, especially when passing through the atmosphere, ensuring that the components can be completely burned and destroyed, so as to avoid the threat of debris falling on the ground. In addition, some key systems and equipment of the space station need to be disassembled and recovered before falling, such as key space technologies such as solar arrays, which is also a difficulty in the decommissioning process.
To ensure the safe completion of the mission, SpaceX's vehicles also need to be ready to launch at all times, in case the space station suddenly fails and derails before the end of its useful life. SpaceX said that they will strictly follow NASA's requirements and standards to carry out the decommissioning of the space station. Despite the challenges, they are confident that they will complete the task and will take various precautions to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
From the process of decommissioning the space station, it can be seen that how to dispose of space technology after the expiration of its service life also requires long-term consideration and solid planning. The problem of space waste is becoming more and more serious, and countries need to form norms for the rational use and disposal of large space installations. The decommissioning also reflects a new phase in the construction of the space station.
The International Space Station (ISS) has demonstrated successful cooperation between different national agencies in the field of space, but its mode of operation is facing new changes in terms of technical conditions. China has made it clear that it will build its own space station in the future. Unlike the International Space Station, China's space station adopts a modular design, which can be flexibly assembled and updated, making it easier to maintain and upgrade.
This shows that the traditional era of large space stations has gradually transitioned to a new generation of modular, commercial operation models. In addition to China, the United States is also accelerating the promotion of commercial space stations. The new generation of space stations will be more economical and will be able to provide better services for commercial space activities.
Traditional space powers are gradually fading out of the space station field and relying on private commercial companies to reduce costs and improve efficiency through technological innovation. The retirement of the International Space Station is an important milestone in the history of human space exploration, which heralds a new era of space station construction with business models and innovative technologies at its core.
China and other countries are fully aware of this trend and have taken action to promote the commercial operation of the space station. The transformation of the space station also reflects the transformation of space activities and governance rules, and requires close cooperation among all countries to establish a new space order in order to continue to promote the progress of space science and technology and benefit human civilization.