From the start of construction in 1998 to the completion of the docking of the last module "multi-purpose logistics module" in 2011, and now, the International Space Station has been operating in space for more than 20 years, and has been overdue. There is no definite date for when the ISS will be scrapped, but it is almost certain that the ISS will run until 2030, after which it will be scrapped.
The United States, as the majority shareholder of the International Space Station, has made arrangements for the aftermath of its retirement. In June this year, NASA signed an $843 million contract with SpaceX to develop a "deorbiting vehicle" that could be pushed into the atmosphere in time for the International Space Station to crash into the Pacific Ocean after it was scrapped.
The ISS has a total mass of about 420 tons, a length of 108.5 meters, and a width of 72.8 meters. For such a behemoth to deorbit and scrap it as soon as possible, it would indeed require a spacecraft dedicated to providing enormous thrust, at which point the device would dock to the International Space Station, and then transfer it from a low-Earth orbit at an altitude of about 400 kilometers to a lower orbit before crashing into the atmosphere.
Space junk discarded by the International Space Station once hit American homes because it did not completely burn up when it fell into the atmosphere. Space junk the size of the International Space Station is only more harmful if not properly disposed of, so it is necessary to ensure that the incomplete part of the space station falls into the Pacific Ocean.
NASA has called the International Space Station an artifact with great historical value in a statement. As a result, some American experts had envisaged dismantling the scrapped ISS and keeping part of it for museum display. However, humanity does not yet have the ability to safely transport a portion of the ISS from 400 kilometers of space to the surface. Even if there is a way to achieve it, it will require a huge economic cost, which is obviously not worth it for NASA, which is already stretched thin.
Since this method is not working, some American experts have changed their thinking, wanting to use the scrapped International Space Station as a symbol of human wisdom, and keep it in space forever as a memento, or even want to reuse it in the future. They recommended that NASA raise the orbit of the scrapped ISS from 400 to 800 kilometers to avoid a crash due to orbital decay due to atmospheric drag.
Although the idea of these American experts is to be kept as a memorial, it is not fully considered, because from a practical point of view, keeping the scrapped ISS in orbit cannot be ignored, and it still needs to be monitored and maintained regularly to ensure that it does not pose a threat to other space facilities. However, this also requires a lot of human, material and financial resources.
In addition, there is a large amount of space junk in the Earth's orbit, which has already had an impact on human space exploration activities.
Over time, the components of the space station will gradually deteriorate and deteriorate in the space environment. These parts may produce a large amount of space junk and debris due to collisions, friction, etc. This space junk and debris flying at extremely high speeds in orbit will pose a huge threat to other normal spacecraft and even endanger the lives of astronauts.
Moreover, the ISS is not owned by the United States alone, it is built and operated by the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency, and the United States does not have the right to dispose of it alone. Even if it wants to dispose of it, the United States can only dispose of the modules it has built.