NASA has awarded SpaceX a US$843 million contract to build the vehicle that will lift the International Space Station (ISS) from its long-time Earth orbit when its operational life ends in a few years.
SpaceX, a private company controlled by tech mogul Elon Musk, will build the vehicle that brings down the space station, but NASA will still oversee the eventual mission.
The International Space Station, launched in 1998, is scheduled to be removed from orbit by 2030. It is operated by space agencies in the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada and Russia. All countries involved have committed to operating the station until 2030, with the exception of Russia, which has only committed to participating until 2028.
Astronaut crews have occupied the ISS since 2000.
“The Orbiting Laboratory remains a model for science, exploration and partnerships in space for the benefit of all,” said Ken Bowersox, NASA associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate.
The contract is a further mark of confidence in the technological prowess of SpaceX, a Hawthorne, Calif.-based rocket maker that Elon Musk founded in 2002 to explore new frontiers in space.
The 52-year-old then became the driving force behind Tesla, the electric car manufacturer that represents most of his fortune, estimated at US$220 billion.
