NASA plans to deorbit the ISS sometime around 2030. Building something the size of the ISS in orbit is a huge undertaking and NASA keeps talking about wanting to build new space stations or a moon base, so why not leave the ISS in space and reuse it rather than literally throw the whole thing away?
In: Planetary Science
The ISS’s orbit is low enough, it is slowed by the upper atmosphere. It requires periodic boosts from visiting spacecraft to maintain its orbit. That costs money.
When Skylab’s orbit decayed faster than expected, rained debris over parts of western Australia on reentry. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but it was an embarrassment for NASA. So, they plan to deorbit the ISS while they can control the reentry.
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