NEWS FROM THE FUTURE: Break-up of the century

Futureworld brings you Mindbullets: News from the Future, to spark strategic thinking about leadership, innovation and digital disruption. These fictitious scenarios aim to challenge conventional mindsets and promote understanding of the future context for business. 

September 1 2031

Nasa has issued an urgent instruction cancelling all future tourist visits to the International Space Station (ISS), and has announced preliminary plans for the break-up of the station into separate modules before retrieval or deorbiting.

The shock announcement came as further cracks in the Russian-built Zarya module threatened to compromise the integrity of the orbiting outpost. First described as “superficial fissures” in 2021, the cracks have been widening since 2028, when the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, also decided not to renew its participation in the international space project.

“The Russian segments have always been the most problematic,” said a space official who did not want to be named. “Their modules were designed in the Soviet era, and have had many ‘upgrades’ and repairs to stay serviceable.” Space watchers will remember another incident in 2021, when the newly docked Nauka module fired its thrusters autonomously, throwing the entire space station briefly out of control.

Now it appears that the future of the station as the largest habitat in orbit is in doubt. Even if the troublesome Russian modules can be safely detached, and sent crashing into the ocean, the viability of the remaining section will be questionable. Nasa has always had end-of-life scenarios for the station, which includes retrieving valuable modules with SpaceX Starships, as well as ditching less important pieces, allowing them to burn up in the atmosphere or be buried at sea. Another option is relocating some segments to the Lunar Gateway orbiting the Moon.

Whatever the final decision, it’s unlikely the Russians will have any say in the matter. Since Roscosmos pulled out, its section has had the most air leaks and electronic glitches and has not been used for crew quarters. Nasa will not confirm when the current crew of the station will be evacuated, or if mission specialists aboard starships would supervise the break-up, but watch this space!

Date published:  September 2 2021

The Heavenly Palace opens for visitors: if you’re visiting space, you now have a choice of destinations

June 13  2029

For a long time, international astronauts and would-be space tourists had one destination available in orbit, the International Space Station or ISS. Now there’s another one, China’s Heavenly Palace.

Interest in space travel surged in the early 2020s, when SpaceX successfully delivered astronauts to the ISS using its reusable rockets, and promises of private flips to orbit and trips around the moon filled the Twittersphere. Now that private companies were in the human space flight business, surely almost any dream could be fulfilled?

As the second-biggest gorilla on the global stage, China always had ambitions to be top-ranked, and in space too. With the successful development of its Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket, plans for a serious Chinese space station were accelerated, and the first module, Tianhe 1, was placed into orbit in 2021.

With typical speed, Heavenly Palace, or Tiangong, was ready for its first astronaut’s sojourn within three years. As China’s economy and global influence boomed on earth, so did its presence in space, and the addition of expansion modules allows Tiangong to house eight people for up to six months. In keeping with China’s strengthening international links, astronauts from other space agencies were given access.

Now China has indicated that it is willing to consider space tourists visiting its palace in the sky. Already equipped with international docking gates, the space station could be your out-of-this-world weekend getaway, if you can afford the space fare. SpaceX is happy to provide the ride.

Date published: June 11 2020

• Despite appearances to the contrary, Futureworld cannot and does not predict the future. The Mindbullets scenarios are fictitious and designed purely to explore possible futures, challenge and stimulate strategic thinking.