Former Space Agency Leaders Horrified by Plan to Destroy Space Station, Say It Would Be Easier to Save It (Image Credit: futurism-com)
Last month, NASA awarded SpaceX an almost $1 billion contract to develop a “US Deorbit Vehicle” capable of pulling the International Space Station out of orbit and burning it up in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The aging orbital outpost’s demise has been in the works for years now, with NASA hoping to destroy it by 2030, marking the end of three decades of peaceful international cooperation in Earth’s orbit.
And not everybody’s happy with the plan. Jean-Jacques Dordain, who was the director general of the European Space Agency when the station was being built, and former NASA administrator Michael Griffin say its life should be extended instead, giving future scientists a chance to continue studying outer space.
“As two among many builders of ISS, we recommend to those in charge to consider other options than destroying” the station, Dordain told Forbes in an interview.
Instead, he argued, the ISS should be transferred “to future generations… leaving them to decide” its fate, he added.
And not everybody’s happy with the plan. Jean-Jacques Dordain, who was the director general of the European Space Agency when the station was being built, and former NASA administrator Michael Griffin say its life should be extended instead, giving future scientists a chance to continue studying outer space.
“As two among many builders of ISS, we recommend to those in charge to consider other options than destroying” the station, Dordain told Forbes in an interview.
Instead, he argued, the ISS should be transferred “to future generations… leaving them to decide” its fate, he added.
