SpaceX scores $843M NASA contract to de-orbit ISS in 2030

NASA has awarded SpaceX a contract worth up to $843 million to develop a spacecraft that will de-orbit the International Space Station by 2030, the agency announced on Wednesday.

As the ISS nears the end of its operational life, plans for new commercially owned space stations are in progress, leading to the need for the safe disposal of the original station by the end of the decade.

The U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, a new spacecraft being developed by SpaceX for NASA, will be responsible for safely disposing of the ISS. Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon capsule and other vehicles used for station missions, NASA will take ownership of and operate the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle post-development.

SpaceX will need to ensure that the ISS reenters the atmosphere in a way that poses no danger to populated areas, as both the station and the deorbit vehicle will break up during reentry.

Details about the launch contract for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle will be announced separately. NASA and its partners considered using a Russian spacecraft for the de-orbit mission, but ultimately decided that a new spacecraft was necessary for the task.

The responsibility for the safe disposal of the ISS is shared among the five space agencies operating on the station, including NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and State Space Corporation Roscosmos.

DailyTech has reached out to NASA for additional details, and we will update this post accordingly.