NASA Awards SpaceX $843Million to Deorbit ISS
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Wednesday that it had awarded SpaceX $843 million to build a vehicle capable of pushing the International Space Station (ISS) into Earth’s atmosphere for its planned deorbiting around 2030. This task was originally intended for Russian thrusters.
Under this new contract, SpaceX will construct what NASA refers to as the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, which will deorbit the ISS to mitigate risks to populated areas. NASA will take ownership of this vehicle and manage the deorbiting operation.
The ISS, a research laboratory the size of a football field primarily operated by the United States and Russia, has been continuously staffed with government astronauts for about 24 years. However, due to aging components, NASA and its international partners have set a retirement date for 2030.
The U.S., Japan, Canada, and European Space Agency member countries have committed to this partnership through 2030, while Russia has agreed to remain involved until 2028, which is when Roscosmos believes its hardware will last.
Despite geopolitical tensions, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, the scientific collaboration aboard the ISS, orbiting roughly 250 miles above Earth, has persisted.
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This cooperation is maintained largely due to a technical interdependency: Russian thrusters maintain the ISS’s orbital altitude, while U.S. solar arrays provide its power.
Initially, Russian thrusters were intended to deorbit the ISS at the end of its life. However, in recent years, NASA has pursued its own deorbiting capabilities in case Russia exits the partnership earlier than planned or becomes unable to fulfil this role.
The U.S. deorbit plan gained momentum in recent years due to pressure from the White House and other government entities for NASA to develop contingency plans amidst deteriorating relations with Russia.
Looking beyond 2030, NASA is investing in the early development of privately built space stations in low-Earth orbit to maintain a U.S. presence. Companies like Airbus and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are involved in these efforts.
Although the market for private space stations is still emerging, U.S. officials consider a commercial replacement for the ISS essential to compete with China’s new space station in low-Earth orbit.
Additionally, NASA and China are both aiming to return humans to the moon, with NASA investing billions of dollars and partnering with various countries and companies, including SpaceX, to achieve this goal for the first time since 1972.
