The day is coming, sooner rather than later, when the ISS will have outlived its design life. NASA sees it coming and has already started the wheels turning to send the multi-national behemoth to a fiery end.
Yesterday, NASA announced that the agency has selected SpaceX to design and build a vehicle capable of safely deorbiting the International Space Station. Designated a “future procurement,” the contract has a potential value of $843 million, according to NASA. According to the contract terms, NASA will take ownership and operate the Deorbit Vehicle after it is developed. The new vehicle will not be crewed and will eventually burn up in the atmosphere along with the ISS.
Currently, the United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA have committed to operating the station through 2030. Russia has committed to continued station operations through at least 2028. The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies.
“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all.”
Ken Bowersox / NASA
About the ISS
The ISS is currently in its 24th year of crewed operations. In their news release, NASA said, “The space station is a unique scientific platform where crew members conduct experiments across multiple disciplines of research, including Earth and space science, biology, human physiology, physical sciences, and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth. Crews living aboard station are the hands of thousands of researchers on the ground having conducted more than 3,300 experiments in microgravity. Station is the cornerstone of space commerce, from commercial crew and cargo partnerships to commercial research and national lab research, and lessons learned aboard International Space Station are helping to pass the torch to future commercial stations.”
What’s Next?
By the time the ISS deorbits, NASA is expected to have transitioned to one or more commercially operated space stations, such as the one being built by Axiom Space. Axiom anticipates that launching hardware to build its station will commence in 2026. Currently, the company plans to begin construction on its orbiting outpost as a docked attachment to the ISS, which will be separated sometime before the ISS is deorbited.
