NASA has awarded SpaceX $843 million to build a vehicle capable of pushing the International Space Station (ISS) into Earth’s atmosphere for its planned deorbit and destruction around 2030, originally a task intended for Russia’s thrusters.
Under this new NASA contract, SpaceX will develop the US Deorbit Vehicle to safely deorbit the ISS, avoiding risks to populated areas. NASA will take ownership of the craft and manage the deorbiting operation, according to Reuters.
The ISS, a football field-sized research lab primarily led by the United States and Russia, has been continuously staffed with government astronauts for about 24 years. However, due to its aging components, NASA and its international partners have set 2030 as the planned retirement date.
The U.S., Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency countries have committed to the ISS partnership through 2030, while Russia has agreed to remain a partner through 2028, the date until which Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, believes its hardware can last.
