SpaceX to build a one-use ISS deorbit vehicle to plunge the station into the Pacific
TL;DR
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.
- SpaceX won a NASA contract worth up to $843 million to build a single machine whose only job is to drag the space station out of orbit and into the Pacific Ocean Space Daily
- NASA wants to dump the ISS in the sea. Experts say the plan 'raises serious concerns for ocean health' Space
- NASA plans to crash the ISS into the Pacific Ocean: Experts raise concerns for marine ecosystems' health The Times of India
- The Next Outpost: NASA’s Plans for Replacing the Aging International Space Station U.S. Government Accountability Office (.gov)
- Why does NASA want to crash International Space Station into ocean? | The ISS will be guided to 'Point Nemo' | Inshorts Inshorts
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