NASA wants to crash the International Space Station (ISS) into the ocean—but not until 2031.
The space agency says in a press release that it plans to operate the ISS until 2030. As we head into the next decade, however, the long-running space station will be retired to make room for "one or more commercially owned and operated [low Earth orbit] destinations (CLDs)."
"It is NASA’s goal to be one of many customers of commercial LEO destination services, purchasing only the goods and services the agency needs," NASA says in the updated International Space Station Transition Report. "CLDs, along with commercial crew and cargo transportation, will provide the backbone of the human LEO ecosystem after the ISS retires."
The agency says it has five goals for the ISS before its retirement: to enable deep space exploration; to conduct research to benefit humanity; to foster a US commercial space industry; to lead and enable international collaboration; and to inspire humankind.
"It is in the interests of the United States that a seamless transition be made from ISS to one or more future CLDs such that no gap in the government’s ability to use low Earth orbit space platforms is experienced," NASA says. "A gap could jeopardize the strong network of international partnerships that have matured over the last two decades."
But NASA can't just leave the ISS up in space. The agency says it will "line up the final target ground track and debris footprint over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA), the area around Point Nemo," the popular name for the furthest spot from land on the planet.