The American space agency NASA is brainstorming ways to safely retrieve the International Space Station (ISS), a mission that looks trickier than it seems. NASA is taking this matter extremely seriously, because if gone wrong it can be a catastrophe on Earth. At a briefing on Thursday, the space agency’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) called plans to deorbit the station in such a way that it does not cause any human casualties on the ground. One such harmless and accurate method that the space agency comes up with is using a “space tug”. Space tug is a spacecraft that is used to transfer spaceborne cargo from one orbit to another. But this method is not at all cost effective and will require Joe Biden’s government to boost up its space budget.The International Space Station was constructed in the late 1980s with an intended lifespan of 15 years. But the ISS has already exceeded its time in space and has been in the orbit for the last 24 years. “The day will inevitably come when the Station is at the end of its life and we may not be able to dictate that day, it is inconceivable to allow the Station to deorbit in an uncontrolled manner,” said ASAP Chair Patricia Sanders at the briefing, as quoted by Space Policy Online. NASA has said that it wants to retire ISS by 2030, but to ensure a safe retirement, precise manoeuvres and calculations will be required to guide the ISS during its descent.
Full report : International Space Station at risk of falling on Earth, NASA warns.
