The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth continuously for over 25 years and has been visited by 270 astronauts, astronauts and commercial astronauts. In January 2031, a special spacecraft designed by SpaceX. A US deorbit vehicle – will de-orbit the station until it enters our atmosphere and lands in the South Pacific. On that day July 17NASA held a live press conference in which it released details about the process, including a first look A modified SpaceX Dragon Responsible for orbiting the ISS.
As usual, the company shared details about the press conference and the image of the special dragon through their official X account (formerly Twitter). As they noted, SpaceX will deploy a modified spacecraft with six times the thrust and four times the power of „today’s Dragon spacecraft.” The image shows that the US Deorbit vehicle will have a robust service module instead of the trunk used by the standard Crew Dragon vehicle. The module is large and has fold-out solar arrays in addition to hull-mounted solar panels.
It appears to have more Drago engines than the standard Crew Dragon vehicle with 18 engines capable of producing 400 Newtons (90 lb).f) each — a total of 7,200 N (360 lbf) motivation. Presumably, this means that the American Deorbit vehicle will have 72 Drago thrusters (concentrated) and be capable of generating 30,000 newtons (1,440 lb).f) motivation. The image also shows docking with the spacecraft Kibo Vol Operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
NASA announced SpaceX selection In late June To build the vehicle as part of a single-award contract with a total potential value of $843 million. While SpaceX will be responsible for building the spacecraft, NASA will own the spacecraft once it is completed and operate it throughout the mission. Both the spacecraft and the ISS are expected to break up during re-entry, and the remains will land in a „spacecraft graveyard” in the South Pacific. A contract for publishing services has not yet been awarded, but is expected to be announced soon.
SpaceX is also responsible for developing the Human Landing System (HLS) – the Starship HLS – which will carry astronauts to the lunar surface. Artemis III And IV Assignments. SpaceX has contracted to release its key components Lunar Gateway – The Power and motive element (PPE) and Residential and Logistics Outpost (HALO) – into lunar orbit in November 2025 using a Falcon Heavy rocket.
Since 1998, the ISS has been operating as a unique scientific platform – a team of five space agencies, including NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency (ESA), JAXA and the Russian State Space Corporation (Roscosmos). During its operational lifetime, team members conducted experiments on everything from the effects of microgravity and space radiation on human, animal, and plant physiology. This research will play an important role as NASA and its international partners launch long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars in the coming decades.
The station has also allowed extensive research into space science, biology, physical science and technical explanations not possible on Earth. After all, the ISS has served as a symbol of international cooperation, a sign of the Outer Space Treaty and its core philosophy of „for all.” NASA, CSA, ESA, and JAXA have all committed to operating the station until 2030, while Roscomos has committed to continuing operations until at least 2028. The safe orbit of the ISS is the responsibility of all five space agencies.
read more: NASA