The International Space Station (ISS), a symbol of international cooperation and human potential, will be decommissioned in eight years. Yet the dramatic conclusion doesn’t have to be a somber event.
Instead, it might be the beginning of an intriguing human spaceflight future that is, ideally, already under way.
A Symbol of International Collaboration in Space
With the launch of Russia’s Zarya module, the station’s initial component, the ISS project got underway in 1998.
It has seen collaboration among dozens of nations develop the greatest human-built structure in space.
The end of the Cold War and the demise of the Soviet Union marked the beginning of a relationship between two sworn adversaries, the US and Russia.
The end result is a massive space station that is larger than a football field, weighs more than 400 tonnes, and orbits our planet at a speed of 18,000 mph (28,980 km/h) for a minimum cost of $150 billion (£120 billion).
Since the initial crew’s arrival in November 2000, it has been continually occupied.
The station will be deorbited, transported back via Earth’s atmosphere, and then crashed into the ocean in 2031 due to the aging of the station’s technology.
Many scientific experiments have been carried out on the ISS in both its US and Russian sections as well as in modules made in Europe and Japan that were also connected.
Research has looked into conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, as well as novel states of matter and techniques for growing foods like lettuce and radishes in space.
Read more: Artificial Intelligence: A Potential Threat To Democratic Elections?
Upcoming Opportunities to View in the Night Sky
Meanwhile, there won’t be many opportunities to observe the International Space Station this week, Sunday night won’t be a good night to do so.
The weather will be ideal for anyone who wants to go outside and observe it when it flies over the Valley each of the next few nights with either mostly clear or partly cloudy skies anticipated.
There will be two opportunities to see it on Monday. Around 10:12 pm, it will initially become visible for six minutes.
You should gaze west to see it because it will be about 10 degrees above the horizon there. As it moves toward the northeast, it will rise to a height of 29° before vanishing at 10° above the horizon.
Around 11:51 pm on Monday, it will be seen for the second time. 4 minutes long. You should gaze toward the northwest to see it because the station will be about 10° above the horizon there.
As it moves toward the north-northeast, it will rise to a height of 14° before vanishing at 10° over the north-northeast horizon.
Read more: Astronauts Witness Space Debris Disposal During Spacewalk