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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Laura Sharman & Phil Norris

NASA could crash International Space Station into sea within ten years

The International Space Station could be deliberately crashed into the sea under plans being considered by NASA.

The space lab has been orbiting the Earth since 1998 and US President Joe Biden has said it will keep running until 2030, but its future after that is uncertain, the Mirror reports.

Its mission goals would have been achieved by the end of the 2020s and it can't be left in low orbit forever as it could crash into satellites and create dangerous space junk.

Instead, NASA plans to slowly lower its altitude until the Earth's atmosphere pulls it in closer and quicker and sends it into the sea.

"While the ISS will not last forever, NASA expects to be able to operate it safely through 2030," a report from the agency said.

It could be made to 'crash' into a part of the south Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo.

This is said to be the most remote place on the planet, the furthest point from any human settlement in any direction, where satellites and rockets are put to rest.

NASA plans to slowly lower its altitude until the Earth's atmosphere pulls it in closer and quicker and sends it into the sea.

Operators will then fire its thrusters and those of the vehicles still attached to it one last time to give it the final push into the sea as it approaches Point Nemo.

The International Space Station is NASA's orbiting research facility. It's the largest man-made object in the sky, travelling around our planet 15 times a day.

At 357ft end to end, it's almost as long as a football field. It weighs 925lb, the equivalent of 320 cars, and draws its power from an acre of solar panels.

The station has a crew of six living there.

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