news

SpaceX Lands $1 Billion ISS Deorbit Contract From NASA

SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has won a NASA contract to build a spacecraft designed to make the ISS deorbit. Questionable ethics arise when we consider this privatization of space development and exploration, as many worry about the implications of a single billionaire having so much control over space exploration and the future of humanity's relationship with space.

Published June 27, 2024 at 9:27am by Emily DeLetter

SpaceX awarded $843 million contract to deorbit the ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-selects-international-space-station-us-deorbit-vehicle/

NASA has chosen SpaceX to build the spacecraft that will take the International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit for a cool $843 million. The ISS is set to reach the end of its operational life in 2030, and the SpaceX craft will ensure it "destructively breaks up" on re-entry, avoiding populated areas on Earth.

The International Space Station will be deorbited in a careful and controlled manner, with SpaceX providing NASA services to responsibly dispose of the spacecraft and break it up into pieces during re-entry.

The craft's development is another feather in the cap for Elon Musk's SpaceX, which continues to earn NASA contracts and break new ground in space exploration and innovation. With the ISS, five space agencies have managed its operation since its launch in 1998: NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos. Now, SpaceX adds another chapter to the ISS's story as it approaches its planned retirement.