SpaceX, NASA Collaborate on US Deorbit Vehicle for ISS

SpaceX has received a contract from NASA to develop and produce a spacecraft capable of deorbiting the International Space Station.

On Wednesday, NASA announced that it had tapped SpaceX to work on the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, which would ensure that ISS components will turn into additional space debris once it concludes its operation.

NASA is among the international actors that have committed to operating the ISS, with each operating the hardware it contributed to the space station. The four other space agencies are the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and State Space Corporation Roscosmos, NASA .gov reported.

Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the space operations mission directorate at NASA Headquarters, said that the deorbit vehicle project is part of the U.S. space agency and its international partners’ commitment to a safe and responsible transition of the ISS into low Earth orbit.

The U.S. space agency started building the nation’s ISS deorbiting capability in 2022 when it sought information on vendors capable of building a spacecraft that could assist the space station when it reaches its end of life.