How Elon Musk’s $843 mn Dragon will drag ISS to its death in Earth’s most remote ocean
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Engineered Oblivion
The ISS won’t be left to drift into decay—it’s headed for a precise, fiery death at Point Nemo, a silent graveyard in the Pacific where Earth ends its largest machines.
Dragon Executioner
SpaceX’s USDV—part beast, part brilliance—is a custom-built mega-Dragon designed not to deliver cargo, but to end the most ambitious engineering feat in low Earth orbit.
Gravity’s Grip
For over a year, Earth’s gravity will slowly drag the ISS down from 400 km to 220 km, a silent freefall before SpaceX’s final fiery push triggers the station’s atmospheric doom.
Orbital Inferno
As it rips through the upper atmosphere, the ISS will erupt into a blinding firestorm. Most parts will vaporize, but heavy metal bones may crash into the ocean, scorched but intact.
Spacecraft Graveyard
Point Nemo—1,400 miles from any land—is the planet’s most desolate point. It’s where failed satellites, defunct stations, and now the ISS go to die in peace and obscurity.
Last Alliance
The end of the ISS is a global effort, but the U.S. leads with SpaceX at the helm—coordinating one of the most daring orbital operations ever attempted.
Beyond Repair
Years of brutal space radiation, micro-meteoroid scars, and thermal cycling have left the ISS brittle and weary. Refurbishment isn’t just costly—it’s impossible.
Debris Countdown
A chaotic reentry could scatter lethal junk across Earth or space. That’s why access will be locked down, orbits cleared, and the dive monitored second by second.
Private Takeover
NASA isn’t stepping back, it’s stepping beyond. As the ISS fades, new private stations will rise, and the agency will shift its eyes to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.