SpaceX wins $843 million NASA contract to deorbit the ISS in 2030

NASA has chosen SpaceX to develop a spacecraft that may bring the International Space Station from orbit in 2030 – a contract value as much as $843 million, – the agency announced on Wednesday.

The ISS is nearing the end of its operational life, and as plans for brand spanking new business space stations mount, the station that began all of it will eventually need to be safely removed at the end of the decade.

So far, few details have been released about the US Deorbit Vehicle, as NASA calls the craft. However, NASA clarified that the vehicle shall be different from SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which delivers cargo and crew to the station, and other vehicles that provide services for the agency. Unlike these vehicles, that are built and operated by SpaceX, NASA will take ownership of the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle after development is accomplished and can manage it throughout the mission.

Both the spacecraft and the ISS shall be destroyed upon re-entry, and one among SpaceX’s most significant tasks is to be sure that the station’s return is completed in a way that doesn’t endanger any inhabited areas.

The contract to launch the US Deorbit vehicle shall be announced individually.

NASA and its partners considered using the Russian Roscosmos Progress spacecraft to conduct a de-orbit mission, but studies showed that a brand new spacecraft was needed for the de-orbit maneuver. The five space agencies operating on the ISS – NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos – are accountable for the station’s secure demise – nevertheless it is unclear whether the contract amount is sufficient. paid by all countries.

TechCrunch has reached out to NASA for more details, and we’ll update this post if we hear back.