The International Space Station marked 25 years of continuous human presence on Nov. 2, but NASA and partners plan a controlled deorbit near the end of 2030. A reinforced SpaceX Dragon capsule will guide the 460-ton station to Point Nemo, a remote South Pacific "spacecraft cemetery" at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, about 2,688 km from land. Engineers expect a multi-stage breakup during reentry; most parts will burn up, though dense truss sections may survive and splash down in the uninhabited ocean. Lessons from Mir and Skylab inform the safety-focused plan.
Meet Point Nemo — the remote 'spacecraft cemetery' where the ISS will be retired in 2030
The International Space Station marked 25 years of continuous human presence on Nov. 2, but NASA and partners plan a controlled deorbit near the end of 2030. A reinforced SpaceX Dragon capsule will guide the 460-ton station to Point Nemo, a remote South Pacific "spacecraft cemetery" at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, about 2,688 km from land. Engineers expect a multi-stage breakup during reentry; most parts will burn up, though dense truss sections may survive and splash down in the uninhabited ocean. Lessons from Mir and Skylab inform the safety-focused plan.
22:13, 02.11.2025Science
Meet Point Nemo — where the ISS will end its mission
The International Space Station (ISS) celebrated 25 years of continuous human occupation on Nov. 2, a milestone that underscores its role as one of humanity's greatest technological achievements. But the station's operational life is winding down: NASA and international partners plan a controlled deorbit near the end of 2030.
The plan calls for a reinforced, cargo-style variant of SpaceX's Dragon capsule to guide the 460-ton, football-field–length outpost into a carefully targeted reentry over a remote patch of the South Pacific known as Point Nemo.
Why Point Nemo?
Point Nemo—nicknamed the "spacecraft cemetery"—lies at approximately 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W and is roughly 2,688 km (1,670 miles) from the nearest land (Ducie Island, Motu Nui and Maher Island). That extreme remoteness makes it an ideal target: with no nearby population centers or infrastructure, the risk that falling debris could harm people or property is effectively negligible.
"This remote oceanic location is about 2,688 kilometers (1,670 miles) from the nearest land," the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explains, highlighting why mission planners favor the site.
What will happen during reentry?
NASA expects the ISS to break up in stages. First, the solar arrays and radiators are likely to separate. Next, intact modules and the truss may break away. Finally, modules will fragment as structural elements fail under aerodynamic and thermal stress. Most hardware should burn up or vaporize during the intense heating of reentry, but denser or heat-resistant components—especially truss sections—may survive and splash down in the ocean.
These expectations are based on observed reentry behavior from earlier large stations such as the Soviet-Russian Mir, which was steered into a controlled reentry near Point Nemo in March 2001, and NASA's Skylab, which reentered in 1979 with fragments falling over Western Australia.
Safety and lessons learned
Because the ISS is much larger than previous stations—roughly 460 tons compared with Mir's ~130 tons—mission planners are applying lessons from past reentries to reduce risk. The goal is to concentrate any surviving debris in a remote ocean area, minimizing hazard to people and property while ensuring a controlled, predictable end to the station's service.
Bottom line: The ISS's retirement is planned as a carefully managed operation that prioritizes public safety and uses an established remote ocean site to receive any surviving debris.