SpaceX has been selected by NASA, the American space agency, to build a vehicle that will remove the International Space Station (ISS) from orbit as its useful life is coming to an end.
SpaceX will design, develop, and construct the spaceship, according to a recent NASA announcement. The vehicle’s goal is to assist the International Space Station (ISS) during its last atmospheric reentry. The spacecraft is known as the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle by NASA. The deorbiting process, according to the ESA, will happen at some point after the station’s projected 2030 “operational life.”
NASA reported that the deorbit vehicle contract it had with SpaceX was valued at $843 million. The launch costs of the vehicle are not included in this. The launch will be a component of a future contract, the agency added.
based in California NASA and SpaceX already have a relationship. Since 2020, the company has proven to be the agency’s trusted private partner. SpaceX has since routinely flown humans and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
After service ends in 2030, NASA stated last year that a plan to deorbit the ISS had been settled. It was agreed upon by the agency and its foreign partners that the orbiting laboratory would eventually approach the end of its technical life. Since November 2, 2000, there has been continuous habitation aboard the station.
NASA said in a statement that in order to ensure a “safe and responsible deorbit of the ISS in a controlled manner,” the company decided to use a specially built vehicle for the deorbit process.
In order to retire the ISS, the space agency did take other ideas into consideration. A deorbiting operation involving many Russian spacecraft was one possibility. An alternative strategy involved disassembling the space station in orbit and returning its components to Earth. Moving the ISS to a higher orbit, where it would stay out of operation, was still an additional option.
However, according to NASA officials, none of those choices satisfied the organization’s efficacy and safety standards. The organization stated that NASA “will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission,” although SpaceX will build the deorbit spacecraft.
Regarding the intended deorbit vehicle, neither NASA nor SpaceX have released any additional details. However, NASA’s ISS program manager Bill Spetch, recently discussed it with reporters. According to him, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will serve as the model for the deorbit vehicle.
The International Space Station has been supplied with supplies and manned missions using Dragon spacecraft. Although the new deorbit vehicle will be based on Dragon, Spetch pointed out that there would need to be “some modifications and changes” made to its design.
In Washington, D.C., Ken Bowersox holds the position of assistant administrator for Space Operations in NASA’s Mission Directorate. “A deorbit vehicle will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations,” the statement he released read.
Even though the current ISS cannot last indefinitely, Bowersox stated that until its service expires in 2030, it would serve as “a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships.”
NASA intends to use privately built space labs to meet its space research needs after the International Space Station is abandoned. A number of American companies have already been selected by the government to create future space stations.
According to NASA, a deorbiting operation would start with a gradual descent of the ISS’s height. According to officials, the International Space Station (ISS) and its systems will probably handle this without the need for further ships.
However, reentry is the last phase in the procedure. To accomplish this, the ISS must be navigated through Earth’s atmosphere to a target located in an uninhabited oceanic region.
Point Nemo in the South Pacific Ocean has been chosen as the intended landing site. This is the open water between the southernmost tip of South America and New Zealand. Point Nemo is the ocean’s farthest point from land, according to the U.S. National Ocean Service.
According to NASA, the majority of the ISS’s equipment will evaporate or burn away under the high heat of atmospheric re-entry. However, it does state that certain materials that are dense or heat-resistant should survive and end up in the water.
