The POT has confirmed that SpaceX will play a crucial role in the “retirement” of the International Space Station. The US space agency announced that Elon Musk’s company will be in charge of developing the vehicle that will deorbit it and then crash into the Pacific Ocean.
In this way, SpaceX is guaranteed a new multi-million dollar contract that strengthens its relationship with NASA. The deal is reported to have a potential total value of 843 million dollars. Of course, this link does not include the launch service of the vehicle in question, which is planned to be contracted later. It remains to be seen if the agency there again leans towards Musk’s signature, or if it decides to delegate said responsibility to another company (Blue Origin, ULA, etc.).
An interesting fact that the announcement reveals is that, although SpaceX will be in charge of developing and manufacturing the vehicle to deorbit the International Space Station, it will be owned by NASA. And it will be the North American agency itself that will be in charge of operating it during the mission.
At the moment, no technical or design details of the SpaceX tug have been revealed. What NASA has mentioned is that The ship will be destroyed along with the International Space Station when re-entry to Earth is completed..
SpaceX will be a key piece in the destruction of the International Space Station
NASA and the space agencies of Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia have been working on this for some years now. retirement planning of the International Space Station. The Americans, Canadians, Japanese and Europeans have committed to staying on the ISS until 2030, while the Russians plan to leave a couple of years earlier.
It is worth remembering that Roscosmos threatened to leave the orbital laboratory immediately after 2024, in response to international sanctions due to the Ukraine War. However, it later changed its mind and guaranteed its continuity at least until 2028. In the announcement of the new contract with SpaceX, NASA stressed that safely deorbiting the International Space Station It is the responsibility of the five agencies.
At the beginning of 2022, the roadmap for the destruction of the International Space Station was released. The procedure is quite complex and requires multiple steps that will be completed over the course of several years. According to what was revealed at that time, between 2026 and 2028 the maneuvers will be carried out to gradually lower the operational altitude of the ISS.
Starting in January 2030, the process to empty the International Space Station will begin. First, the equipment that is part of the laboratory in orbit will be removed, while between June and November the last crew will retire. NASA has established a line at 280 kilometers altitude as the “point of no return” for the ISS. This means that once you cross it, your final destination will be sealed.
With SpaceX in charge of the tug, NASA takes a very important step towards the end of the life of the International Space Station. Once it re-enters Earth, which would happen in January 2031, will crash in the South Pacific. More specifically, at the pole of inaccessibility of the Pacific—also called Point Nemo—the furthest point from any portion of land. This will prevent the risk of debris and waste falling into populated areas.
