Ibadan, 28 June 2024. – Towards the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station (ISS) after the end of its operational life in 2030, NASA has selected SpaceX to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the space station and ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas. The single-award contract has a total potential value of $843 million, while the launch service for the Vehicle will be a future procurement.

Since 1998, five space agencies, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and State Space Corporation Roscosmos, have operated the ISS with each agency responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. As a result, the safe deorbit of the Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies.

While SpaceX will develop the deorbit spacecraft, NASA will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission. Along with the space station, NASA expects it to destructively break up as part of the re-entry process. The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA have committed to operating the station through 2030. Likewise, Russia has committed to continued station operations through at least 2028

Speaking on the selection, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA, said, “Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the ISS will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations.” Bowersox also added, “The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all. This decision supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.”

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NASA will pay SpaceX $843 million to dispose of the International Space Station.

Elon Musk’s company was awarded the contract to safely deorbit the International Space Station within the next decade.

In orbit of Earth since 1998, the ISS is due to come to the end of its operational life in or around 2030. Instead of leaving it to partially burn up in Earth’s atmosphere and crash unpredictably on the surface, NASA wants a safe, controlled reentry and splash down for the structure.

Too Big To Burn

SpaceX will develop and deliver a spacecraft called the “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle” to bring the ISS back to Earth without risk to populated areas, according to the contract terms.

The 900,000-pound (400,000 kg) ISS is one of many larger structures too massive to burn up during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere. The USDV is expected to take several years to develop and test.

As it stands, NASA, Canada’s CSA, Japan’s JAXA and the European Space Agency have committed to operating the ISS through 2030, while Russia’s Roscosmos will use it until at least 2028.

Spacecraft Cemetery

The ISS will ultimately be guided to an area of the Pacific Ocean known as the “spacecraft cemetery.” An uninhabited area between New Zealand and South America, the ocean floor here is home to over 263 spacecraft, including many capsules, cargo craft and rockets used to reach the ISS.

“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. “This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.”

Private Space Stations

The ISS costs NASA about $3.1 billion per year to run. It’s hoped that the removal of the ISS from low-Earth orbit will encourage the private space industry to construct orbiting space stations that both private and space agency astronauts can use on a pay-per-visit basis.

Several private space stations have been previewed in recent years, including Orbital Reef and Axiom Space’s Axion Station. Orbital Reef is the brainchild of Blue Origin and Sierra Space, but it has support from Boeing, Redwire Space, Genesis Engineering Solutions and Arizona State University. It will orbit 310 miles/500 kilometers out and is described as a “mixed-use business park” in space so companies can “establish their own address on orbit.”

Blue Origin will build and launch the modules on its now-in-development New Glenn rocket, Sierra Space will create modules and use its Dream Chaser spaceplane to launch and land crew and Boeing will supply its Starliner spacecraft.

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