SpaceX is Destroying the ISS, and China is Building a Moon Base

Happy Tuesday, everyone! This week’s newsletter is 541 words, a 4-minute read.

Table of Contents

• 1 Big Thing: China’s Building a Moon Base, and The …

• 2. Cool Stuff You Might Have Missed

• 3. SpaceX Will Destroy the International Space Sta …

• 4. Upcoming Launches & Missions

1 Big Thing: China’s Building a Moon Base, and They Want Your Help

China has plans to build a base at the Moon’s South Pole by 2035.

According to its space leadership, China has signed agreements with 11 countries and 30 international research institutions to participate in building out the lunar base.

• Countries that have signed on with China include Russia, Venezuela, Belarus, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Egypt, Nicaragua, Thailand, Serbia, and Kazakhstan.

If You Build It: China has stated that it hopes and intends to work with upwards of 50 nations around the globe on its lunar research station.

• The rising space power explicitly stated that it’s open to cooperation with all countries, including European nations and the United States.

• Personally, I doubt that the U.S. would cooperate with China extensively in its mission, but we’ll see.

Future Plans: China has said that it wants to establish an operable base by 2035, and an extended base by 2045.

• Before construction and operation of the main base begin, China and its partners will send a series of astronauts and equipment to prepare.

• China hopes to have its astronauts walking on the moon’s surface by 2030.

2. Cool Stuff You Might Have Missed

1. ABL loses rocket after static-fire test. (SpaceNews)

2. Starlink satellites have made 50,000 collision avoidance maneuvers in the last 6 months. (Space)

3. Artemis 2’s Core Stage is done and has left New Orleans on its way to Florida. (Space Explored)

3. SpaceX Will Destroy the International Space Station

SpaceX has officially won a NASA contract to de-orbit the International Space Station at the end of the decade.

Last week, SpaceX and NASA officials provided new details about the United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) which will retire the ISS at the end of its life.

Deorbit what?: When it comes time to decommission the ISS for good, NASA will need to dispose of it in a process known as “de-orbiting”.

• NASA will first allow the ISS to slow down from the small amounts of air resistance it already experiences in space near Earth.

• After a few months, the ISS’s altitude will fall from 400 km to about 330 km, at which point its final crew will leave.

• To finally decommission the ISS, SpaceX’s USDV will dock to the Space Station and fire its engines, slowing the station down until it plunges through the atmosphere and its debris lands in the Pacific Ocean.

4. Upcoming Launches & Missions

SPECIAL EXCITING NEWS: If you refer just 3 friends (used to be 5, now it’s 3) to my newsletter, I’ll send you a free copy of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s A Brief Welcome to the Universe. Use the link below to share and get credit for your referrals!

Thanks as always,

-Michael