NASA astronaut Sunita Williams doesn't want the International Space Station (ISS) deorbited before 2030, as SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has suggested. While speaking to reporters from the station on Tuesday, Williams said that there's a lot of science going on aboard the space station and that it's "not the right time" to get rid of it.
NASA has planned to crash the ISS into the Pacific Ocean by the end of this decade. Last year, SpaceX got over $800 million to get the job done.
When asked about the condition of the aging station and if it could hold up until 2030, Williams replied, "This place is ticking. It's just really amazing. So I would say we're actually in our prime right now. We've got all the power, all of the facilities up and operating. So I would think that right now is probably not the right time to call it quits."
Williams also said that she was surprised to see the amount of science being carried out at the station.
"We have probably till 2030 in our agreements. And I think that's probably really accurate, because we should make the most of this space station for our taxpayers and for all of our international partners, and hold our obligations and do that world-class science that this laboratory is capable of," she added.
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Last month, Musk made contrary statements saying the station "has very little incremental utility." He even suggested deorbiting the ISS as soon as possible, two years at most.
"It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let's go to Mars," Musk posted on X. Upon being asked if he wants the deorbiting before 2030, he said, "The decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now."
The first module of the ISS was launched in November 1998 and it has grown to have 16 modules over two-and-a-half decades. But time has taken a toll on the station and it has encountered some problems, which warrants the need to find alternatives for maintaining human presence in the low-Earth orbit.
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