NASA has selected SpaceX to develop a vehicle that will bring the International Space Station to a fiery end when the time comes.

The space agency first asked U.S. aerospace companies for proposals in March 2023 and then again in September of that year. The request was for a “space tug” vehicle that could help deorbit the U.S. sections of the International Space Station (ISS) safely.

On Wednesday (June 26), the agency issued a statement announcing that SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the “U.S. Deorbit Vehicle” as it’s known. The contract is worth up to $843 million; that total does not include any launch costs, however, and is for the vehicle development only. The vehicle will be responsible for disposing of the space station “in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030,” the statement adds.

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Should have went with Boeing they seem to good at diorbiting stuff.

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I can’t wait for the headline about his SpaceX miscalculated, rammed the station, and initiated a Kessler cascade, obliterating the infrastructure needed for international logistics and communications. Get ready for the sequel to the 1970s everybody!

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8 points

Cause musk knows how build things that crash and burn

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2 points

Well, for 20 years we had one space station and now with China we have two and if we eventually start to get commercial stations then we’ll start to have even more so more people will be able to go up.

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9 points

Will they save all those Thinkpads?

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7 points

I would pay damn good money for a thinkpad that has been on the ISS

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24 points

They’ll recover them after the station breaks up in the atmosphere

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