NASA will pay up to almost US$1 billion (around R$5.5 billion) to SpaceX to develop a vehicle capable of taking the International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit and taking it to its final destination when the federal agency and its partners retire the laboratory in the coming years.
The vehicle manufactured by SpaceX could be launched later this decade. It will connect to the International Space Station — a structure weighing about 450 tons and approximately the size of a football field — and guide the spacecraft as it leaves Earth’s orbit. The ISS and the vehicle that will take it out of orbit are expected to collide with Earth’s atmosphere while still traveling at more than 17,000 miles per hour (about 27,000 kilometers per hour).
SpaceX will receive up to US$843 million (about R$4.7 billion) for the task, NASA said on Wednesday (26). The space agency did not say how many companies submitted proposals for the contract for the vehicle that will take the ISS out of orbit.
NASA operates the International Space Station alongside Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, which controls a key wing of the station and propulsion modules. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa), the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency also participate in the operations.
NASA noted in a press release Wednesday that “the safe removal of the International Space Station from orbit is the responsibility of all five space agencies.”
The agency, however, did not say whether its international partners would bear part of the cost of SpaceX’s contract to build the vehicle that will take the ISS out of orbit. A NASA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
SpaceX also did not respond to a list of emailed questions about the contract. The company does not typically respond to inquiries from news outlets.
In previous documents, NASA said it hoped the vehicle could be launched by December 2028 and said it would require it to be ready by 2029. It is unclear when the ISS will stop operating.
In the press release, NASA noted that it is committed to continuing space station operations until 2030. But Roscosmos has guaranteed its participation only until “at least 2028.”
NASA has emphasized that the space station provides a crucial platform for its astronauts to conduct scientific experiments and research for future missions deeper into the cosmos, but the laboratory is aging rapidly.
The station, which is in orbit about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, has hosted rotating teams of astronauts continuously since 2000.
“Selecting a U.S. vehicle to deorbit the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition into low-Earth orbit following the end of station operations,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the Directorate of NASA Space Operations Missions, in a statement.
“The lab continues to be a model for science, exploration and partnerships in space for the benefit of all.”
NASA has long said it plans to transfer operations in low Earth orbit — the area of space closest to Earth where the space station currently operates — to the private sector. Commercial companies will be free to build their own orbital laboratories, space hotels or other ventures.
Meanwhile, NASA plans to focus on deeper exploration of the solar system. The agency’s Artemis mission, for example, seeks to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon by 2026 and eventually establish a permanent lunar outpost.
In a separate announcement, NASA also said Wednesday afternoon that it was ending a contract to develop new Extravehicular Activity, or EVA, suits — which astronauts wear when performing spacewalks outside the station.
The iconic fluffy white suits that astronauts currently wear on spacewalks were designed more than 40 years ago. Earlier this week, NASA was forced to cancel plans to remove a faulty electronics box outside the space station because a spacesuit worn by astronaut Tracy Dyson leaked shortly before the start of her spacewalk.
In a statement announcing the decision Wednesday, NASA said its EVA contract partner, North Carolina-based Collins Aerospace, “recognized that its development timeline would not support the space station timeline and space station objectives.” NASA mission.”
NASA and SpaceX launch new mission to the International Space Station
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