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SpaceX has won a major contract from NASA to de orbit the International Space Station (ISS) from low Earth orbit (LEO), according to a press release from the space agency late yesterday evening. The contract is worth $843 million, and it will allow NASA to safely de orbit the ISS to ensure that the station does not impact any populated areas. The ISS is humanity's first space laboratory and it has spent decades in space, allowing researchers and scientists to leverage the unique environment offered by microgravity to conduct experiments.
SpaceX Is Now Responsible For De-Orbiting ISS & Launching NASA's Moon Space Station
The ISS traces its history back to the late 1990s, with the first module launched by Russia in 1998. The first crew took charge of the laboratory in late 2000, and since then, hundreds of crew members have visited the station using Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, NASA's Space Shuttle, and more recently, SpaceX's Crew Dragon. The fourth ISS crewed ship, Boeing's Starliner, is currently docked at the station as part of a test mission that seeks to certify a second U.S. based spacecraft for crewed launches from American soil.
NASA's release shared that it has chosen to award SpaceX a massive $843 million contract to develop a new ship to safely de orbit the station after the end of its life by the end of this decade in 2030. Unlike SpaceX's crew and cargo NASA missions, which see the firm operate the Dragon spacecraft by itself, SpaceX will not operate the ISS de orbit spacecraft. Instead, NASA shared that it will take "ownership" of the ship after its design and development and "operate it throughout its mission." This ship will remain docked with the ISS during the final stages of the station's life, causing it to "destructively breakup as part of the re-entry process," outlined the space agency.
Since the source selection document for the plans isn't available, it's uncertain what spacecraft SpaceX will choose or develop for the de orbit mission. SpaceX's focus right now is to develop the Starship program for crew and cargo missions to the Moon and Mars. Some other missions, such as NASA's plans to retrieve the Perseverance rover's samples from Mars, have seen SpaceX propose Starship. However, current Starship designs have not featured a docking adapter, which is key for missions to the space station.
Yet, docking is an integral aspect of Starship's mission profile for its crewed lunar missions contacted under the Human Landing System (HLS). NASA shared in late February that it had tested such a docking system that will allow astronauts to enter Starship from a planned lunar space station called Gateway.
This system is based on the docking system used by the current generation of Dragon vehicles for the ISS. SpaceX's Falcon Heavy is contracted to currently launch no earlier than next year, and other modules, such as those developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will also be a part of Gateway. Another JAXA logistics mission is slated to launch in 2030 as part of NASA's Artemis program to land crew on the Moon.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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