NASA plans to deorbit the International Space Station by 2031 and sink its remaining structure in the Pacific Ocean. Weighing more than 400 tons, the station would become the largest object ever deliberately disposed of in the ocean in the history of space exploration. Environmental organizations are calling for an environmental assessment before the process begins, pointing to a gap in international law that leaves the ocean unprotected against space debris.
Point Nemo
NASA plans to deorbit the ISS in several stages. Starting in early 2028, the station’s altitude will be gradually reduced through atmospheric drag and the use of thrusters from the Russian segment. This process is expected to take several years.
In mid-2029, SpaceX is scheduled to launch the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), equipped with 46 Draco engines, which will dock with the station to perform the final braking maneuver. In late 2030 or early 2031, the USDV will execute the deorbit burn, sending the remaining structure of the station into the so-called Point Nemo.
This is the most remote location from land in the southern Pacific Ocean. So far, more than 263 spacecraft and fragments have already been deorbited there. With its mass, the ISS exceeds the largest of them — the Soviet space station Mir space station — by more than three times.
Legal Gap
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently released a report on NASA’s deorbiting plan. Among the identified risks, the document highlights a potential gap in human presence in low Earth orbit after the International Space Station is retired.
The environmental organization The Ocean Foundation has taken a different focus. Its president, Mark Spalding, stated that the plan “raises serious questions about ocean health that the space community has not yet adequately addressed.”
According to him, the 1972 Liability Convention on Space Objects requires a launching state to compensate for damage if space debris falls on another country’s territory, but no equivalent protection exists for the ocean.
What will not burn up
The question of which parts of the ISS will survive atmospheric reentry, according to Mark Spalding, is “the very essence of the problem.” He notes that denser components are certain to reach the seafloor, but the composition of these fragments—and their impact on marine ecosystems—has not yet been studied.
He also drew attention to the BBNJ Agreement (High Seas Treaty), recently adopted at the international level. It requires parties to conduct environmental impact assessments for activities whose consequences are unknown or poorly understood, a category he argues the ISS deorbiting clearly falls into.
The organization’s demands
The Ocean Foundation is demanding that NASA fulfill several conditions before beginning the ISS deorbiting process. These include a full assessment of the impact on the marine environment and the public disclosure of the list of debris expected to reach the seafloor.
The organization is also calling for a legal review of obligations under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1996 London Protocol, which prohibits the dumping of waste into the open ocean and serves as a key international standard for protecting the marine environment from pollution.
Mark Spalding noted that the high seas have no sovereign authority capable of enforcing accountability, and that this gap in international law urgently needs to be addressed.
According to space.com
