WASHINGTON: NASA on Tuesday said it had picked SpaceX to build a vessel to carry the International Space Station back through Earth’s atmosphere and on to a final resting place in the Pacific Ocean after it is retired in 2030.
Elon Musk’s company has been awarded a contract with a potential value of $843 million to develop and deliver the spaceship, dubbed the US Deorbit Vehicle.
“Selecting a US 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,” said NASA’s Ken Bowersox in a statement.
NASA plans to take ownership of the spacecraft after SpaceX builds it, and control operations throughout the mission.
Weighing 430,000 kilograms (950,000) pounds, the ISS is by far the largest single structure ever built in space.
Based on past observations of how other stations such as Mir and Skylab disintegrated on atmospheric re-entry, NASA engineers expect the orbital outpost to break up in three stages.
First, the massive solar arrays and the radiators that keep the orbital lab cool will come off, then individual modules will break off from the truss, or the station’s backbone structure. Finally, the truss and the modules themselves will tear apart.
Much of the material will be vaporized, but large pieces are expected to survive. For this reason, NASA is aiming for an area of the Pacific Ocean called Point Nemo, one of the most remote areas of the world and known as the graveyard of satellites and spaceships.
The first segment of the ISS was launched in 1998, and it has been continuously inhabited by an international crew since 2001.
The US, Japan, Canada, and participating countries of the European Space Agency (ESA) have committed to operate the microgravity lab through 2030 — though Russia, the fifth partner, has only committed to operations through 2028.
NASA chief Bill Nelson told Congress in April that given the dire state of US-Russia ties, it would be prudent to begin work on a US deorbit vehicle to “get the whole station down safely, so it won’t hit anybody or anything.”
Several companies are working on commercial successors to the ISS, including notably Axiom Space and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
NASA picks SpaceX to carry ISS to its watery graveyard after 2030
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NASA picks SpaceX to carry ISS to its watery graveyard after 2030
Harry Styles announces first album in 4 years, ‘Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally’
- It follows the critically acclaimed synth pop “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards
- “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon
NEW YORK: In this world, it’s just him: Harry Styles has announced that his long-awaited, fourth studio album will arrive this spring.
Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” and out March 6, the album is Styles’ first full-length project in four years. It follows the 2022, critically acclaimed synth pop record “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star the top prize of album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
In a review, The Associated Press celebrated “Harry’s House” for showcasing “a breadth of style that matches the album’s emotional range.”
On Instagram, Styles’ shared the cover artwork for “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” which features the 31-year-old artist in a T-shirt and jeans at night, standing underneath a shimmering disco ball hung outside.
According to a press release, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” will contain 12 tracks and is executive produced by Kid Harpoon. The British songwriter and producer has been a close collaborator of Styles’ since the beginning of his solo career, working on all of his albums since the singer’s 2017 self-titled debut.
“Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” is now available for preorder.
It is also Styles’ first project since his former One Direction bandmate Liam Payne died in 2024 after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
