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Since its launch in 1998 and ongoing occupancy since November 2000, the ISS has represented a global collaboration between NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, JAXA, and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) for more than 25 years.
What is Point Nemo?
The name Point Nemo comes from the imagination of author Jules Verne. It pays homage to the fictional explorer Captain Nemo from Verne’s 1871 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, who traveled to equally isolated and mysterious regions. Verne chose the Latin word “nemo”, meaning “no one” or “nobody.”
In a brief Point Nemo explainer, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials wrote, “This remote ocean location is located approximately 2,688 kilometers offshore. [1,670 miles] From the nearest land – Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands, to the north; Motu Nui, one of the Easter Islands in the northeast; and Maher Island, part of Antarctica, to the south.”
Why Point Nemo?
Thousands of kilometers from the nearest coast, Point Nemo is located in a secluded area of the South Pacific. Due to its confinement, it is perfect for getting rid of large debris or abandoned spacecraft components, minimizing the risk to commercial shipping or human habitation.
Given that the ISS is the size of a football pitch and contains valuable modules and instruments, unauthorized or random re-entry could be extremely dangerous. Therefore a controlled dive at Point Nemo was opted for.
How will de-orbit work?
NASA has hired SpaceX to build a “US Deorbit Vehicle”, based on a modified Cargo Dragon spacecraft. Following station operations, the vehicle will dock with the ISS and begin a sequence of orientation and de-orbit burns to direct the combined mass to the designated ocean area.
This converted Dragon cargo spacecraft will be guided to the station during its descent. The “spacecraft graveyard,” Point Nemo, is a desolate area in the Pacific Ocean where controlled reentry will take place.
According to NASA engineers, the separation will happen gradually. The primary structure and modules will be separated after the solar arrays and radiators. Most of it will burn in the air. Only those components that are heat resistant or dense will survive and sink to the ocean floor without causing any harm.
By 2030, the ISS will have spent more than three decades orbiting the planet. Decommissioning is necessary due to aging hardware, rising maintenance costs, and the logistical challenges of maintaining global collaboration.