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Archive for November 14, 2024

Ephemeris: 11/14/2024 – SpaceX to deorbit the International Space Station

November 14, 2024 Comments off

This is Ephemeris for Thursday, November 14th. Today the Sun will be up for 9 hours and 35 minutes, setting at 5:15, and it will rise tomorrow at 7:40. The Moon, 1 day before full, will set at 7:28 tomorrow morning.

SpaceX has received a contract from NASA to deorbit the International Space Station around the year 2030. The contract is for a little bit less than a billion dollars. SpaceX will develop a special Dragon capsule with enough fuel to deorbit the space station. The idea is to drop the space station’s orbit over a period of months and guided in its final journey to a spot in the South Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, which is the spot between New Zealand and Chile near longitude 120° W and latitude 50° South. Point Nemo is named after the captain of the fictional submarine Nautilus from the Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Point Nemo is the farthest point in the South Pacific Ocean from any landmass: island or continent.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EST, UT – 5 hours). Times will be different for other locations.

Addendum

What the special SpaceX Cargo Capsule and Trunk might look like
Image of what the special SpaceX Cargo Capsule and Trunk might look like as it deorbits the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX.
Categories: Ephemeris Program, NASA Tags: , ,