Will Space Station Plunge Into Ocean Grave in 2020?

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Russian space officials announced their intentions to plunge the
International Space Station into the ocean at the end of its
operational life in 2020 as a way to avoid perpetuating the
problem of space junk in orbit, according to news reports.

The comments were issued today (July 27) by Vitaly Davydov, the
deputy head of Russia's Federal Space Agency, or Roscosmos, the
news agency AFP reported.

"After it completes its existence, we will be forced to sink the
[International Space Station]," Davydov said, according to AFP.
"It cannot be left in orbit, it's too complex, too heavy an
object, it can leave behind lots of rubbish."

But it seems that the space station's 2020 end is not completely
final. While Russia and its international partners have agreed to
keep the space station running through at least 2020,
preliminary talks between the partner space agencies have
examined the possibility of further extending the life of the
outpost.

"[T]he heads of the International Space Station agencies from
Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia and the United States met in Tokyo,
Japan, on March 11, 2010 to review station cooperation and agreed
there are no identified technical constraints to continuing the
station operations to at least 2020," NASA spokesman Kelly
Humphries told SPACE.com in an email interview. "The partnership
is currently working to certify on-orbit elements through 2028.
We will continue the technical evaluation and discussions with
our international partners."

The $100 billion International Space Station
took 13 years to assemble in orbit, and represents the
efforts of five space agencies representing 15 countries.
Construction of the complex began in 1998 and NASA and its
partners are now shifting their focus more to utilization of the
laboratory for science and technology research.

The orbital outpost, which flies about 220 miles (354 kilometers)
above Earth, consists of 13 rooms and is typically home to a
six-person crew. The space station weighs nearly 1 million
pounds, which is roughly equivalent to 320 cars.

Plunging the station into the ocean would avoid further
cluttering low-Earth orbit, where space junk already presents a
growing problem for spacecraft and satellites. Last month, a
piece of
space debris flew uncomfortably close to the space station,
requiring its six residents onboard to take shelter in their
Soyuz spacecraft.

NASA and its partners have well-defined methods for tracking
space junk, as well as safety procedures for the space station to
avoid any collisions.

The Russian space station Mir, a predecessor to the International
Space Station, also met a watery demise in 2001. At the end of
its 15 years of operation, Mir plummeted through Earth's
atmosphere and splashed into the Pacific Ocean.

Disposal of the Mir space station in the Pacific Ocean was
planned, much like the International Space Station's eventual
demise. NASA also discarded its first orbiting laboratory in
similar fashion, but not all of the station's parts landed in the
water. The 77-ton Skylab plunged through Earth's atmosphere and
rained debris over the Southeastern Indian Ocean and parts of
Western Australia. Planners for the International Space Station's
final disposal ultimately want to ensure that this does not
happen again.

You can follow SPACE.com Staff Writer Denise Chow on Twitter
@denisechow. Follow
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