BGR By Nicolae Bochis Oct. 27, 2025
After more than two decades in orbit, the NASA is planning to end the International Space Station's journey. NASA has confirmed that the ISS will be decommissioned and deliberately brought down to Earth in 2030. The orbital laboratory, which has circled Earth more than 100,000 times, cannot simply remain aloft forever. Its structure is aging, maintenance costs are rising, and its orbit will eventually decay. Instead of letting it drift uncontrollably back through the atmosphere, NASA plans a controlled deorbit to ensure a safe and precise final descent of the station.
The ISS has been a symbol of scientific progress and international collaboration since its first module was launched in 1998. Some of today's adults hadn't even been born when the first scientists and astronauts boarded the station in November 2000. The ISS has become humanity's permanent home in space and a laboratory where astronauts from around the world conduct groundbreaking research on a wide range of topics, including medicine, physics, climate science, and spacecraft technology. But, as NASA looks towards the moon, Mars, and beyond, the time has come to say goodbye to this remarkable outpost and make way for a new generation of orbiting destinations.
How NASA plans to deorbit the ISSWhen the International Space Station reaches the end of its mission life around 2030, NASA won't simply let it fall to Earth. That brings a potential risk of debris from the ISS hitting populated areas. Instead, the agency devised a multistep plan to guide the massive structure safely back into Earth's atmosphere. The ISS will gradually descend as natural atmospheric drag slowly lowers its orbit. Engineers on the ground will monitor and control this process, performing reboosts and orbital adjustments to ensure the station maintains stability and the correct orientation for the final maneuver.
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https://www.bgr.com/2003564/how-nasa-will-deorbit-iss-2030/
