Elon Musk's SpaceX bags $843 million NASA contract to deorbit International Space Station

NASA has announced that Elon Musk's SpaceX has been chosen to build a spacecraft to safely deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) into the Pacific Ocean after its retirement in 2030.

Elon Musk's company has been awarded a contract potentially worth $843 million to develop and deliver the spacecraft, named the US Deorbit Vehicle.

SpaceX-NASA contract

Ken Bowersox of NASA emphasized that selecting a US Deorbit Vehicle ensures a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of the ISS's operational life. NASA will take ownership of the spacecraft after SpaceX completes its construction and will oversee its operations throughout the mission.

The ISS, weighing 430,000 kilograms (950,000 pounds), is the largest structure ever built in space. NASA engineers expect the station to break up in three stages during atmospheric re-entry. First, the solar arrays and radiators will detach, followed by the separation of individual modules from the station's truss, and finally, the truss and modules themselves will disintegrate. While much of the material will vaporize, larger pieces are expected to survive, making the targeted re-entry location Point Nemo, a remote area in the Pacific Ocean known as the graveyard of satellites and spacecraft.

The ISS has been continuously inhabited since 2001, with its first segment launched in 1998. The US, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency (ESA) have committed to operating the microgravity lab through 2030. However, Russia, the fifth partner, has only committed to operations until 2028. NASA Chief Bill Nelson informed Congress in April that, given the strained US-Russia relations, it is prudent to develop a US deorbit vehicle to ensure the safe deorbiting of the station, preventing potential harm.

Several companies, including Axiom Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, are working on commercial successors to the ISS, ensuring continued advancements in space research and habitation.

[With AP inputs]

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