NASA has decided to develop a spacecraft that can light the International Space Station from orbit and send it to controlled destruction in the Earth's atmosphere, Space reports.. com. This will be done after the plant is out of service..

The plan was revealed on March 9, when the White House released its 2024 federal budget request.. NASA's $27.2 billion allocation included $180 million "

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More project details were revealed on March 13 when NASA held a press conference to discuss the estimated budget.. In particular, the approximate cost of a new tug became known..

" She added that while the goal of the agency is to collect proposals, as a result of which it hopes to reduce the cost of the spacecraft..

The new tug will expand the list of possibilities for deorbiting the ISS. The current plan involves turning on the engines of the Russian Progress spacecraft docked to the station. But NASA is looking at other options, Ludres said..

“Having a US reentry vehicle is another key pillar in our space operations and ISS deorbit strategy,” she said..

Ludres added that " She probably meant coolant leaks that occurred on the Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft on the ISS.. One of them was supposed to return the station crew to Earth, but he had to look for a replacement and send a new ship to the ISS.

In addition, Russia has repeatedly voiced its intention to withdraw from the ISS project “earlier” (there were phrases “after 2024”) and focus on building its own orbital station. It is likely that this, as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is pushing the United States to look for alternative mechanisms for deorbiting the ISS..

Recall that the leak on the Russian " And two months earlier, in mid-December, a similar problem was recorded on the Soyuz spacecraft.. Because of this leak, Roskosmos postponed the return to Earth of the crew of the damaged ship, he will return home not in March, as planned, but in September.