International Space Station too dangerous to stay in orbit, warns Musk
Elon Musk has called for the International Space Station (ISS) to be de-orbited 'within two years' amid concerns about the ageing facility's safety.
The billionaire owner of SpaceX, which sends astronauts and cargo up to the ISS regularly for Nasa, said parts of the station were 'simply getting too old'.
'Even though SpaceX earns billions of dollars from transporting astronauts & cargo to the ISS, I nonetheless would like to go on record recommending that it be de-orbited within two years,' Mr Musk posted on X, his social media platform.
The ISS is not scheduled to be brought back to Earth until 2030.
Mr Musk's comments follow Nasa's decision to postpone a commercial mission to the ISS, which is jointly run by the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Union, that was previously scheduled for Friday.
Nasa said it was working with Russian space agency Roscosmos to investigate 'a new pressure signature' in a section of the station, called the Zvezda service module.
Zvezda hosts living quarters, life support systems, key electrical components and flight control and propulsion systems, according to Nasa's website.
Leaks were first detected aboard the ISS in 2019. Nasa has described the leaks, which are caused by microscopic cracks in the station's aluminium-based structure, as a 'top safety risk'.
Over time, the leaks have been growing worse – although experts say they are closer to a slow puncture in a tyre than a blowout.
Nevertheless, it means valuable air is being lost from the station, which is dependent on supply runs from Earth for oxygen, food, water and other essentials.
The cracks in the station, parts of which are now a quarter of a century old, are thought to be the result of general wear and tear to its largely aluminium-based structure.
In orbit, the ISS undergoes a constant cycle of cooling and heating that causes what is known as 'high cyclic fatigue' in its metal components, where tiny cracks can emerge. This is because aluminium becomes harder but more brittle over time as it is flexed.
Casey Handmer, an American physicist who previously worked at Nasa's jet propulsion laboratory, claimed that the problem was potentially far more serious than had been publicly acknowledged and could lead to a failure in orbit that put astronauts at serious risk.
There are seven people currently aboard the ISS.
'We could wake up tomorrow and find, with zero warning, that it has failed catastrophically,' Mr Handmer wrote on X.
'Whether that means a leak slow enough to close some hatches, get the crew out or at least into safer parts of the station, is a roll of the dice.
'It could also depressurise in less than a minute.'
On Thursday, Nasa said Russian cosmonauts had carried out repairs to the Zvezda section. However, the US space agency postponed the Axiom Mission 4 launch, which would have taken an Indian astronaut to the ISS, while investigations are carried out.
'The postponement of Axiom Mission 4 provides additional time for Nasa and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine whether any additional troubleshooting is necessary,' Nasa said.
The Axiom Mission 4 launch will be carried out by Mr Musk's SpaceX, using both the company's Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon capsule.
The billionaire threatened to decommission his Dragon capsules as part of a blazing public row with Donald Trump on social media.
However, Mr Musk has since said he regrets some of his comments during the spat and there has been no sign of him following through on the SpaceX threat.
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