NASA prepares for the retirement of the International Space Station

In October 2000, a Soyuz rocket carried the first expedition to the International Space Station and thus began its permanent stay aboard the laboratory. Humans have been occupying space ever since. NASA is now preparing for what comes next for human presence in space with plans to deorbit the International Space Station in 2031.

“We're constantly doing maintenance on the space station. We're constantly sending our astronauts on spacewalks, and they're doing just that,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Let's say we didn't have commercial stations that are ready to launch. Technically, we could keep the space station, but the idea was to fly it by 2030 and de-orbit it in 2031.”

When the International Space Station de-orbits, it will re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Most of it will burn up, but some will survive the heat of reentry.

“It's as big as a football stadium,” Nelson said. “We should be able to place them accurately in the South Pacific graveyard.”

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It is the largest structure ever built in space. In the 1990s, the Russians played a role in choosing where the ISS would orbit.

“So far ahead, 5 or 6 years ahead, we're developing the de-orbit vehicle. You never know with the things that President Putin is cooking up. What will our relationship be? Can we continue to rely on our partners in space station to help bring it down So we're not taking any chances,” Nelson said.

NASA is now partnering with commercial companies from both the US and allies around the world.

“There are limitations to being on a space station that is operated by multiple governments,” said Voyager Space International and Space Station President Jeffrey Manber.

Voyager and its international partners plan to launch Starlab into a lower orbit.

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The company says it is more efficient and cost-effective than what the US and Russians agreed to in the 1990s.

“When you're commercial, you don't have to be political like we had to be inviting the Russians 30 years ago,” Manber said.

Like the ISS, Voyagers Starlab will still be an international base. The company is in partnership with companies from all over the world.

“We have the Europeans represented by Airbus, the Japanese represented by Mitsubishi Corporation. We've just announced that Canada's MDA makes the robotic arm,” Manber said. “And of course we have the support of NASA. So it's very exciting how we've put this together to be truly international.”

NASA believes that the shift to commercial partnerships will also benefit national security.

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“You see the sudden, very free world separation from Russia as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It's interesting that one part of the relationship between Russia and the United States that still works is the cooperation not only in directing and maintaining and releasing astronauts and cosmonauts together is a seamless professional relationship,” Nelson said.

Besides the ISS, the only other facility housing astronauts in orbit is China's space station. Beijing was barred from the International Space Station, largely because of US concerns about the Chinese military's control over its space program. Russia plans to launch its own orbital servicing station in 2027. India also hopes to have its own station in the near future. The US believes that removing government control of space will help benefit life on Earth.

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“As you orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, you don't see religious divisions on Earth. You don't see racial divisions. You don't see political divisions,” Nelson said. “What you see is our home, the planet. You see that we are all citizens of planet Earth. That is a unifying factor.”