The vehicle will take this waste into a controlled burn-up over the Pacific Ocean when it leaves the station sometime from June onwards.

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Just keeping a station in one spot on the ocean is nearly impossible.

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It is scheduled to stay at the ISS until August, after which it will undock and take station rubbish into a controlled burn-up over the Pacific Ocean.

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In 1979, NASA's Skylab Space Station fell from orbit, and its debris dropped into the Indian Ocean.

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Atlantis undocked from the upgraded and almost completed International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, some 354km above the Indian Ocean.

BBC: Atlantis set for 'final' return

The 10 megawatts of power that will be generated by the Sound of Islay turbine farm pales into insignificance when compared to the output of a large nuclear or coal power station, which according to American hydro energy non-profit the Ocean Energy Council, can produce up to 100 times as much electricity.

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It will remain attached to the station for two weeks before it plummets back into the atmosphere and splashes into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, according to SpaceX.

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Officials have been planning to ditch the station in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, 1, 500-2, 000km east of Australia.

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Officials are now planning to ditch the station in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean, 1, 500-2, 000km east of Australia.

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