SpaceX building NASA craft to destroy the International Space Station

[cebert]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/26/spacex-wins-nasa-contract-for-iss-reentry-destruction.html

[drpossum]

This is an egregiously bad clickbait headline that implies SpaceX is building something nefarious. This is for a planned end-of-life deorbit in several years and technically it is not the craft that will destroy it (that's the reentry's job), it's to do the deorbit in a controlled way.

Here's the thread from yesterday

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40804856

[spookie → drpossum]

Thanks for the warning. I assumed it would be de-orbiting but still, a very bad headline prone to lead people into believing in something that's not going to happen.

[ainiriand → drpossum]

Yeah we shouldn't give attention to this kind of press.

[sen]

How accurately can they really de-orbit such a colossal object with so many parts that are bound to break off?

Is this a “it’s fine, they can model it so well that they’ll target a couple hundred square kilometres in the middle of the ocean” thing or a “pieces will be spread across many thousands of kilometres, but it probably won’t hit anyone because the earth is really big..” thing.

[pndy → sen]

Mir space station was de-orbited without issues. Tho I remember media reporting back then that Japanese govt was ready for worst case scenario - the reentry track lead over southern Japan and the fear was that biggest parts of the station could hit the inhabited areas. Luckily that didn't happen and what's left of the station sunk near Fiji.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deorbit_of_Mir

The NASA's document released on Wednesday and linked in the article, "International Space Station Deorbit Analysis Summary" states that various solutions were considered including disassembly the station in parts but "this a less feasible, riskier, more costly disposal method." so a complete de-orbiting operation seems is the best way.

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iss-deorbit-...

[HPsquared → sen]

I guess it would break up at some point, and the timing of that event would affect the re-entry characteristics. It seems like a challenge for modelling, but maybe it's possible to put upper and lower bounds on the ballistic coefficient.

[mytailorisrich → sen]

That's why they aim at Point Nemo. Nearest land is 2,500 km away so there is plenty of margin for all the small "bits" that might spread during break up.

[evolve2k]

“… the agency sees privately built space stations as a way to replace the ISS at a fraction of the cost.”

Of the upfront cost maybe, but it’s like moving from being the landlord to being the renter where there’s only a couple bungalows on the island.

Costs be going way up year on year. Short sighted reasoning.

[mlindner → evolve2k]

Costs aren't going way up year on year though.

Keep in mind that NASA already sends billions per year to Boeing for station support.

[adwf]

They should just ask Boeing to build a rocket to keep it in orbit, would be cheaper...

[riffraff]

I'm sad they didn't decide to push it away.

I imagine it would have required an insane amount of energy, but it would have been cool to imagine it drifting off, a-la "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets".

[gnabgib]

Discussion (101 points, 21 hours ago, 126 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40804856

[tzfld]

Expecting great onboard stream of the deorbit process.

[doingtheiroming]

Surely they could just ask China.

[pjio]

... after retiring