SpaceX to build a one-use ISS deorbit vehicle to plunge the station into the Pacific

NASA awarded SpaceX up to $843 million to develop the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, a heavily upgraded Dragon designed to dock with the ISS, burn for hours to push the 430-ton lab from its orbit, and guide it to a controlled reentry that ends with debris sinking in the remote South Pacific near Point Nemo around 2030. The mission is single-use and NASA will own and operate it; preserving or boosting the ISS to a higher orbit is considered impractical given its size, age, and complexity. The plan accompanies a broader shift toward private stations while ensuring U.S. presence in orbit, and involves launch, ground support, and international coordination.