NASA turns to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to take the International Space Station out of orbit in a few more years

WASHINGTON (AP) — NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to build the vehicle that will lift the International Space Station from its long-time Earth orbit when its useful life ends in a few more years.

SpaceX, a private company controlled by technology mogul Elon Musk, will build the vehicle that brings down the space station, but NASA will still oversee the eventual mission.

The International Space Station, launched in 1998, is expected to be deorbited by 2030. The station is operated by space agencies in the US, Europe, Japan, Canada and Russia. All countries involved have committed to operating the station until 2030, except Russia, which has only committed to participating until 2028.

Astronaut crews were occupying the space station since 2000.

“The orbiting laboratory continues to be a model for science, exploration and partnerships in space for the benefit of all,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate.

The contract is yet another vote of confidence in the technological prowess of SpaceX, the Hawthorne, Calif.-based rocket maker that Musk founded in 2002 to explore new frontiers in space. Musk, 52, then became the driving force behind Tesla, the electric car maker responsible for most of his estimated $220 billion fortune.