This was reported by Space.com, Ukrinform reports.

As noted, NASA plans to allocate $27.2 billion, of which $180 million will go to “start development of a new space tug” that can safely move the ISS from its orbit over the open ocean after its service life ends in 2030.

“Our estimate is that it will cost about $1 billion,” Cathy Lueders, NASA’s manned flight division chief, said at a press conference on March 13. However, this cost is just the beginning.

According to the current plan, the safe decommissioning of the station is based on burning the engines of the Progress robotic cargo ships supplied by Russia. But the geopolitical situation and problems with cooling the spacecraft proved the need for more reliable options.

As Ukrinform reports, NASA has previously stated that the ISS will continue to operate until at least 2030, after which it will be safely decommissioned. In particular, the station should be landed on the desolate region of the Southern Pacific Ocean (SPOUA), a conventional point considered to be “Point of Nemo” ㅡ the furthest from anywhere in the World Ocean. Landing on Earth.

The ISS has been in operation since the end of 1998.

Photo: NASA