NASA has announced that SpaceX will build a spacecraft, dubbed the “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle,” tasked with guiding the International Space Station (ISS) into controlled destruction by the end of this decade. Valued at $843 million, this ambitious plan aims to safely maneuver the ISS, the size of a football field, back into Earth’s atmosphere. The decision comes as NASA faces challenges with the aging ISS, including microscopic leaks, making controlled reentry essential to avoid risks to populated areas. Despite considering alternatives like dismantling or relocating the station, NASA concluded that SpaceX’s solution is necessary, signaling a monumental end for the iconic space laboratory that has housed over 3,300 experiments since 2000.
NASA will use a SpaceX spacecraft to oversee the demolition of the International Space Station later this decade, the agency stated on Wednesday.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has given SpaceX a $843 million contract to manufacture the so-called “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle.” The spaceship will be designed to return the football-field-sized research laboratory to Earth’s atmosphere following its retirement in 2030.
The SpaceX-built spacecraft will effectively destroy the ISS by pushing it into reentry from orbit.
“It is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station in a controlled manner,” NASA said in a press release, with the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle needed to “ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas.”
NASA did not say whether SpaceX’s design for the US Deorbit Vehicle will be based on one of the company’s existing spacecraft, such as the Dragon capsules.
The United States, along with four foreign partner organizations representing Russia, Europe, Canada, and Japan, has been preparing for the eventual retirement of the ISS, which has been crewed since 2000. The International Space Station, which was designed primarily as a crewed research laboratory, has hosted over 3,300 microgravity experiments. This includes research that is not possible on Earth, such as medical science and technological displays.
Aging ISS
However, the ISS is aging, and NASA and its lead partner Roscosmos are unable to address a growing problem of microscopic leaks aboard the station.
NASA issued a report on Wednesday that analyzed why it chose to purposefully destroy the ISS via a controlled reentry. The agency considered several options, including deconstructing the station in orbit or attempting to elevate the ISS to a higher orbit using a huge spacecraft such as SpaceX’s Starship.
“The space station is a unique artifact whose historical value cannot be overstated. NASA considered this when determining if any part of the station could be salvaged for historical preservation or technical analysis,” the agency wrote.
Finally, the agency investigation concluded that any measures to restore or repurpose the ISS were technically or fiscally unfeasible. NASA indicated that the ISS’s operational lifetime could be extended beyond 2030, but this has yet to be established and requires agreement with its international partner agencies.
NASA intends to replace the ISS with commercial space stations and is funding U.S. companies’ construction through the Commercial LEO Destinations (CLD) initiative.
The International Space Station costs around $150 billion to create and build, and it costs NASA about $4 billion each year to operate, so the agency sees privately built space stations as a chance to replace the ISS at a lower cost.
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