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ELON MUSK WINS CONTRACT TO DESTROY THE FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Published: 2024-12-07 07:51:37 Last Updated: 2024-12-08 09:45:34

NASA has awarded SpaceX a contract to assist in the destruction of the International Space Station, and the project is expected to happen sooner rather than later. The ISS was developed in partnership with NASA, Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada) and was built in 1998. Since then, it has enabled researchers to carry out unique experiments while orbiting roughly 250 miles above the planet.
The ISS is 'an unprecedented achievement in global human endeavours to build and utilize a research platform in space,' according to the US space agency. But it wasn't built to last forever, with its operational life set to end in 2030. 18 months after ISS operations conclude, NASA will allow the spacecraft to gradually approach Earth.
The ISS will then be propelled towards Earth by a spacecraft that will attach to it and use its thrusters. And SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, has won the $843,000,000 contract to perform the honours.
The vehicle will be a modified SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with four times the thruster power and six times the propellant of a standard Dragon. The ISS will mostly disintegrate and burn up as it passes through Earth's atmosphere.

However, the space station's larger modules will survive the atmosphere and land at a final splash spot, which NASA has not yet made public. "Choosing 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," stated Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all." This decision also permits the continued use of space close to Earth and supports NASA's plans for future commercial destinations.

China's Tiangong space station, which has been in orbit since 2021, is one of nine space stations that will enable work to continue from space. Over the years, SpaceX has also won several contracts from NASA. The business most recently secured a $256 million contract to launch NASA's Dragonfly mission, which will investigate Titan, Saturn's largest moon. Between July 5 and July 25, 2028, the space agency will launch its Dragonfly rotorcraft from Kennedy Space Center in Florida using a Falcon Heavy rocket. The spacecraft won't land until 2034 because the trip to Titan takes six years. But there is something to look forward to!

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