The Russian state space corporation Roscosmos has officially announced that a detailed project for the deorbiting of the International Space Station (ISS) has been completed. The announcement was posted on the agency’s official website and confirmed by Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov ahead of talks with NASA leadership.
"A program to bring the station down from orbit has already been developed. Experts estimate that the process will take around two and a half years," — said Bakanov.
According to Roscosmos, the upcoming negotiations with NASA will address continued cooperation, including cross-flights, as well as a safe deorbiting strategy and the eventual controlled splashdown of the ISS in the Pacific Ocean.
Musk’s Suggestion: The Sooner, the Better
Earlier this year, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also advocated for deorbiting the ISS—"the sooner, the better." At first glance, this seemed like an odd stance for someone so publicly enthusiastic about space. But on closer inspection, Musk is not alone in his skepticism.
Even Soviet cosmonaut and engineer Georgy Grechko once questioned the practical value of orbital stations. Both he and Musk base their criticism on sound technical and strategic arguments. And with Musk’s influence in the United States—the primary partner in the ISS—there’s a real possibility that this vision could come to fruition, despite strong pushback from within the global space community.
No Replacement Station Ready by 2027
By 2027, neither Russia nor the United States is expected to have a new orbital station ready to replace the ISS. The only credible American entity potentially capable of building a replacement is SpaceX, but their priorities lie elsewhere.
The company’s focus is on launching Starship vessels with life-support systems to the Moon. These ships, which rival the ISS in internal volume and surpass it in physical dimensions, could eventually serve as temporary orbital outposts—capable of landing back on Earth. However, such applications are not on Musk’s immediate business agenda, and likely won’t be pursued until the 2030s.
This scenario raises a troubling question: could the world be left without any major international space station for the foreseeable future?
Critics Sound the Alarm
Unsurprisingly, the proposal to "sink the ISS" has sparked widespread backlash—not only from NASA, but from scientists, engineers, and space enthusiasts worldwide.
"If the ISS is decommissioned in 2027, Europe, Japan, and Russia will have no space platforms to visit. And all skills that aren't used tend to rust," — warned one industry analyst.
This criticism is more than rhetorical. For example, American astronauts still use aging spacesuits that frequently flood with water on board the ISS—an issue attributed to prolonged neglect and underuse. The dismantling of the ISS could accelerate a broader regression in human spaceflight capabilities.
