It’s no secret that the International Space Station has an expiration date. The only variable is how it will land on Earth. NASA has now tapped SpaceX for the mission and is paying the company $843 million to return the ISS safely.
SpaceX, a private space venture company owned by Elon Musk, will use the money from the NASA contract to build a deorbit vehicle. NASA will then tap a contractor to launch that vehicle into space to dock with the ISS. The final step in the plan is for the vehicle to slowly drift away from the ISS so that it falls back to Earth in an unpopulated area, where it can be safely recovered without harming anyone.
SpaceX said it is “honored to be trusted by NASA to support this critical mission,” in a post Wednesday on X.
“The selection of a US deorbit vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition to low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,” Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. said in a statement. “The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration and partnerships in space for the benefit of all.”
NASA says a second contract will be awarded in the future to launch the deorbit vehicle into space once it is built. Since SpaceX has plenty of experience launching things into space — like satellites to deliver broadband and manned missions to the ISS — it’s possible the company could be awarded that contract as well.
When is the ISS set to return to Earth?
The ISS is scheduled to retire in 2030, which is when it will return to Earth. Will be busy until retirement. NASA plans to transition the space station to commercial operation this decade to allow companies to use it before it is retired. (The ultimate goal is for private companies to have installations in low Earth orbit that don’t have to be maintained by NASA.)
Otherwise, the ISS has lived a full life. Construction missions began in 1998, and the ISS has been manned continuously for the past 22 years.
Why is the ISS deorbiting?
NASA says the structure’s limited lifespan is due to thermal cycling; wear from docking and undocking of the ship; and other factors.
In short, NASA says that after 2030, the ISS simply won’t be safe enough for humans to be there.
How will the space station crash?
It’s simpler than you might think. According to NASA, the US deorbit vehicle being built by SpaceX will dock with the ISS. From there, the vehicle will use its propulsion system to push the ISS into a lower orbit.
After that, drag from Earth’s atmosphere will take over and bring the ISS back to Earth. The controlled deorbit procedure will be calculated so that the ISS debris falls into the ocean where it cannot harm anyone.
Why is NASA using a deorbit vehicle?
Other possible methods of getting the ISS out of space are either too difficult, too expensive, or both. NASA considered deconstructing the ISS and returning it piece by piece. However, the agency says the original assembly took 27 flights by NASA and that disassembly could take even longer because the ISS was more difficult to deconstruct than to build.
Another option was to push it into a higher orbit so that it could merge with the large debris shell that already exists in space. NASA says the problem with this approach is that it would take too much propellant to lift the massive space station into a “graveyard orbit.” The current capabilities of the ISS may increase its orbit slightly, but it will remain in low Earth orbit without additional and costly assistance.
The third option considered was to let it fall from space on its own. Of course, the point there is pretty self-explanatory: if the ISS falls out of space on its own, NASA won’t be able to control where it lands. This means it could land in a populated area and harm people.