The International Space Station (ISS) will continue to operate until 2030.
However, in January 2031, it is now scheduled to be "retired", phased out of orbit, followed by a controlled "plunge" into a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean, near the so-called Nemo Point, which has been called a "space cemetery" because it has occasionally welcomed other spacecraft that have reached the end of their lives.
This includes the updated plan for the US space agency's (NASA) ISS, which has been made public.
Meanwhile, by the end of the 2020s, another space station - or two - is expected to be built with private sector participation[/B] or under full control of the private sector. NASA plans to buy time on these commercial space stations, in order to continue microgravity experiments, biomedical research, technology development, familiarizing its astronauts with space, etc.
NASA has already signed agreements with three American companies, according to UPI, to develop the new space stations: they are Blue Origin ($130 million contract), Nanoracks ($160 million) and Northrop Grumman Systems ($126 million).
Source: Proto Thema
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