8 Minutes
End of an era: the plan to deorbit the ISS
For a continuous quarter century, humans have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station in low-Earth orbit. Built and operated by the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan, the ISS has been a uniquely successful international laboratory since the first modules were launched in 1998 and continuous occupation began in November 2000. In 2030 NASA will intentionally lower the station's orbit and guide it to a controlled reentry over a remote area of the South Pacific Ocean. That planned deorbit marks the end of one chapter in human spaceflight and the formal start of a managed transition to new orbital platforms.
Deorbiting a complex, inhabited structure like the ISS is not a cinematic crash but a carefully choreographed engineering operation. Over several months and years NASA and partner agencies will reduce the station's altitude, transfer or dispose of unneeded hardware, and use propulsion to aim the station at a designated remote impact zone often called Point Nemo, the oceanic pole of inaccessibility. One company selected to support aspects of the deorbit work is SpaceX, reflecting how commercial providers have become integral to low-Earth orbit operations.
Scientific legacy and the value of microgravity research
The International Space Station's emblem features the flags of the original signatory states
During its service life the ISS hosted more than 4,000 experiments and produced over 4,400 peer-reviewed publications across disciplines. The station's microgravity environment, exposure to vacuum, wide thermal cycles and enhanced radiation levels enabled experiments not possible on Earth. Highlights include improved understanding of thunderstorm electrification, advances in drug crystallization techniques that aid development of cancer therapeutics, demonstrations of DNA sequencing in orbit, and progress toward growing complex biological tissues such as prototype retinal structures. Materials scientists used sustained microgravity to improve the production of ultrapure optical fibers and alloys, while combustion studies deepened knowledge of flame behavior without gravity-driven convection.
Microgravity research is not an end in itself; it has direct Earth benefits. Pharmaceutical processes that yield purer crystals can translate into better drug formulations. Biomanufacturing methods tested in space can inform remote or extreme-environment operations on Earth. And physics-based experiments refine models that support satellite technology, atmospheric science and astrophysics. The ISS demonstrated that long-duration human presence amplifies scientific return by enabling hands-on experimentation, real-time troubleshooting and iterative development of payloads.
Why retire the ISS and how the transition will work
The ISS has been sustained by continuous logistical and financial commitments from partner agencies and commercial suppliers. Over time, station hardware ages and risks to long-term structural and systems integrity increase. Maintaining the ISS requires recurring expenditure for spare parts, orbital reboosts, and safety systems. Agencies must weigh the cost of continued operation against the value of investing in next-generation infrastructure.
NASA and international partners are not abandoning low-Earth orbit. Instead they are shifting strategy from government-owned, long-term stewardship of a single large station to a mixed economy of commercially owned, commercially operated platforms supplemented by governmental purchases of services. Since 2021 NASA has awarded development funding to multiple commercial teams to accelerate private space station concepts. These public-private partnerships aim to deliver commercially run orbital laboratories capable of hosting four-person crews for extended missions and meeting NASA safety and research standards.
In September 2025 NASA released a draft solicitation for Phase 2 of the commercial low-Earth orbit partnerships. Selected providers will receive funding to complete critical design milestones and demonstrate operation with four-person crews for at least 30 days in orbit. Once designs pass NASA certification and acceptance, the agency can buy missions and research services on a contract basis much like existing cargo and crew transportation arrangements with SpaceX and Boeing. Achieving a smooth handover requires commercial stations to be operational and certified before the ISS is decommissioned to ensure continuity of human presence and research capabilities.
While western and international commercial stations are being developed, China will continue to operate the Tiangong station, a three-person facility that has been continuously crewed for several years. If the ISS occupation streak ends in 2030, Tiangong will be the longest continuously inhabited station in operation.
Technical, safety and environmental considerations for deorbit
Deorbiting the ISS involves careful systems engineering, international coordination and environmental assessment. Key technical steps include safe removal or safe disposal of externally attached experiments and expendables, securing hazardous materials and fuels, and executing controlled thruster burns to lower perigee. The final reentry is designed so surviving fragments fall into a remote segment of the South Pacific Ocean known as the spacecraft cemetery. This procedure minimizes risk to people and property and follows established planetary protection and environmental guidelines.
From a safety perspective, mission planning will factor in orbital debris mitigation, collision avoidance with active satellites, and contingency plans should component failures complicate the descent. Agencies must also address long-term environmental concerns associated with any plume emissions and the ocean impact of fragments, though prior deorbit operations and environmental reviews indicate such impacts are highly localized and minimal compared with broader human maritime activity.
Future of low-Earth orbit research and commercial opportunities
The commercialization of low-Earth orbit opens new models for research, manufacturing and tourism in space. Planned stations emphasize modularity, on-orbit servicing, and cost-effective resupply. Commercial providers envision markets in pharmaceutical development, microgravity manufacturing, Earth observation, media production and astronaut training. For researchers, access to orbital platforms could shift from centralized grant-driven access toward fee-for-service models, partnership research agreements and public-private collaborations.
Continuity of critical research areas is a priority. Investigations that require long-duration human presence, such as human physiology studies for deep-space missions, must be transitioned to new platforms without gaps. NASA intends to purchase research time and mission services from certified commercial stations to maintain scientific programs essential to exploration goals, including lunar and Mars mission preparation.
Expert Insight
I am an aerospace engineer who has helped build a range of hardware and experiments for the ISS. As a member of the spaceflight community for over 30 years and a 17-year member of the NASA community, it will be hard for me to see the ISS come to an end.
Dr. Elena Morales, a fictional senior systems engineer with decades of experience on human spaceflight programs, provides a practical perspective: 'The ISS taught us how to operate international systems in orbit and how rapid iteration works when humans are on site. Deorbiting the station is a mature, risk-managed decision. The challenge now is to translate lessons learned into commercial operations that match or exceed the scientific throughput of the ISS while reducing recurring costs.'
This assessment reflects a common view in the space community: retirement of a flagship asset can be painful, but it creates capacity for innovation and cost-effective growth in an emerging orbital economy.
Conclusion
In 2030 the ISS will be guided into a controlled reentry, concluding a 25-year chapter of continuous human habitation in low-Earth orbit. The station's scientific legacy is vast, having advanced biotechnology, materials science, Earth observation and fundamental physics. The planned deorbit is the result of careful engineering and programmatic planning and signals a strategic shift toward commercial, distributed orbital infrastructure. As new commercial stations come online and agencies certify operational platforms, research and human presence in low-Earth orbit will continue, but with new ownership models and expanded opportunities for scientific discovery. For now, anyone who has the chance should look up on clear nights and appreciate the remarkable human achievement the ISS has represented — a bright, traveling testament to international collaboration and scientific curiosity.
Source: sciencealert
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