Apparently, you might be attacked by the ISS (International Space Station), wherever you are.
Florida, United States A big piece of metal that is thought to be from a battery pallet that was thrown away from the International Space Station (ISS) crashed through the roof and two stories of a house in Florida. People in the area are both amazed and worried about the dangers that space junk poses.
The ISS is a great example of how countries can work together.
The International Space Station (ISS) has been going around the Earth for almost 25 years, showing how creative people can be and how well countries can work together. The ISS was built by the US and Russia with help from Canada, Japan, and Europe. It has been home to humans and science studies for a lot longer than its original 15-year target2. In a world that is often split, it stands for togetherness.
Space Junk Is Getting Worse
What will happen to the ISS depends on where it is in low-Earth orbit. In the upper, unstable parts of Earth’s atmosphere, the station is hit by a steady stream of particles that slow it down and lower its position. Without regular boosts, the ISS would finally fall apart, catch fire, and burn up upon reentry2.
The ISS gets most of its help to stay in orbit from Russian Progress supply ships, which fire their engines every so often to combat the drag that Earth’s atmosphere causes. But as the ISS gets older, its structure weakens and there is a greater chance that space junk will hit it. The latest event in Florida shows how important it is to deal with this problem right away2.
The Tricky Balance
NASA is already looking at private ideas for how to safely shut down the ISS. The government plans to spend almost $1 billion on this service so that it doesn’t have to rely on a lot of Russian cars. The harsh end is set for the beginning of the next decade, but planning the ISS’s controlled fall is a tricky matter that requires both flight engineering and diplomatic skills2.
As we say goodbye to this famous space lab, the ISS, questions appear about what will come next. Even though it will eventually end, the spirit of unity and discovery it represents will continue to motivate people to explore beyond our world.
