Elon Musk's SpaceX wins $843 million to deorbit International Space Station - The Times of India

Elon Musk's SpaceX has won a $843 million contract from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to build a spacecraft that will safely deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) to its planned destruction around 2030.

What the NASA- SpaceX contract says?

Under the NASA contract, SpaceX will build a US Deorbit Vehicle to deorbit the space station and avoid risks to populated areas.NASA will take ownership of the craft and handle the deorbiting operation.
ISS is a football field-sized research lab, led primarily by the United States and Russia, and has been continuously staffed with government astronauts during its some 24 years of operation. Due to its aging components, NASA and its foreign partners have planned to destroy and deorbit it in 2030.
Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington said in a press release, “Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth.”
To maintain its presence in the cosmic region, US' NASA is funding early development of privately built space stations in low-earth orbit like Airbus and Jeff Bezos' Blue origin.

ISS's breakdown process

As per agencies, ISS disintegration is expected to unfold in three different stages:
- Detachment of solar arrays and radiators crucial for maintaining the ISS' temperature.
- Separation of individual modules from the truss, the station's backbone structure
- Disintegrating the truss and modules
NASA has reportedly identified Point Nemo in the Pacific Ocean as the landing site for the ISS debris.

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2024-06-28 06:10:00Z
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