NASA has selected SpaceX to develop a vehicle that will bring the International Space Station to a fiery end when the time comes.
The space agency first asked U.S. aerospace companies for proposals in March 2023 and then again in September of that year. The request was for a “space tug” vehicle that could help deorbit the U.S. sections of the International Space Station (ISS) safely.
On Wednesday (June 26), the agency issued a statement announcing that SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle” as it’s known. The contract is worth up to $843 million; that total does not include any launch costs, however, and is for the vehicle development only. The vehicle will be responsible for disposing of the space station “in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030,” the statement adds.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
NASA has selected SpaceX to develop a vehicle that will bring the International Space Station to a fiery end when the time comes.
On Wednesday (June 26), the agency issued a statement announcing that SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle” as it’s known.
The vehicle will be responsible for disposing of the space station “in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030,” the statement adds.
“The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all,” Bowersox added.
“There’s nothing magical that happens in 2030,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA"s commercial crew program at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, said during a Jan. 25, 2024 briefing.
Stich added that the ISS will continue operations until commercial space stations are in orbit and ready for crews.
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