NASA is continuing to promote scientific, educational, and technological advancements in low Earth orbit while also increasing its focus on deep space exploration, including missions to the Moon and Mars. As part of its plans, NASA is preparing for the controlled deorbiting of the International Space Station (ISS) following the end of its operational life in 2030. NASA has announced that Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been selected as the company responsible for deorbiting the ISS.
According to NASA’s announcement, SpaceX has been chosen to develop and deliver the vehicle that will deorbit the ISS. The contract is valued at $843 million, covering the development of the vehicle. SpaceX’s vehicle will be responsible for the controlled disposal of the ISS once its operational life concludes in 2030.
While the ISS’s primary partners have committed to maintaining operations until 2030, Russian space officials have also confirmed their support until 2028. Even though the ISS will be decommissioned, NASA and other agencies, along with commercial partners, are continuing to work on new stations to be placed in orbit.
For example, Axiom Space is developing the Axiom Station, while Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, and Amazon are planning their own station known as Orbital Reef. Voyager Space, with assistance from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, is working on the Starlab complex. Additionally, California-based Vast Space plans to launch its Haven-1 module into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2025. It appears that post-ISS, space will become an increasingly “commercial” domain.