RIYADH: The International Space Station is nearing the end of its operational life, with NASA planning to conclude the station’s missions and deorbit it into the Pacific Ocean in early 2031.
Jeddah Astronomical Society president Majed Abu Zahra said a US deorbit vehicle, under development by SpaceX, is expected to guide the ISS toward a controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean after operations conclude in 2030.
Since the launch of its first module in 1998, the ISS has been in continuous operation, a familiar sight in the night skies, and a landmark of human cooperation in space.
Abu Zahra said the effort will signal a carefully managed end to an era that has shaped spaceflight and microgravity research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Sunday.
Over more than two decades, agencies from the US, Europe, Russia, Canada, and Japan have worked together, supporting crewed missions, maintaining systems, and conducting thousands of experiments in orbit.
