SpaceX Awarded $843 Million Contract to Develop Super-Powered Dragon Capsule for Deorbiting ISS

SpaceX Awarded $843 Million Contract to Develop Super-Powered Dragon Capsule for Deorbiting ISS
Image credit: Wikipedia 

NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to develop the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), a new spacecraft designed to safely deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of the decade. This new vehicle will be a highly advanced version of SpaceX's Dragon capsule, currently used for transporting astronauts and cargo to orbit.

The USDV is designed to perform critical deorbit burns over the final week of the ISS's operational life, ensuring a precise reentry trajectory. This vehicle, about half of which will consist of new components, will be docked to the ISS 18 months before these burns begin, remaining attached until the station reaches an altitude of approximately 220 kilometers above Earth. It will then carry out a series of burns over four days, culminating in the final reentry burn to direct the remaining debris to an uninhabited ocean area.

NASA's decision to contract SpaceX was partly based on the use of flight-proven hardware from the Dragon capsule, which boosts reliability. SpaceX's new vehicle will feature significant enhancements, including six times the usable propellant and three to four times the power generation and storage of a standard Dragon capsule. The spacecraft will also be equipped with 30 additional Draco thrusters to handle the complex deorbiting maneuvers.

The USDV will manage increased atmospheric drag and ensure the ISS is guided safely during reentry. The final burn, a critical and powerful maneuver, will help minimize the debris footprint, although some debris, ranging in size from microwave ovens to small sedans, is expected to reach the Earth's surface.

The International Space Station (ISS)
Image credit: Wikipedia 

The collaboration between NASA and SpaceX marks a departure from previous contracts. Unlike contracts for station crew and cargo transportation, where SpaceX owns and operates the vehicles, the USDV contract requires SpaceX to design and deliver the vehicle to NASA, which will then procure the launch and operate the spacecraft.

NASA's decision to seek a private-sector deorbit vehicle came after concluding that existing capabilities provided by Roscosmos were insufficient for the ISS's size. The development of the USDV is crucial, given the complex nature of the mission and the lengthy development timeline for such an advanced spacecraft.

NASA plans to start the rocket procurement process three years before the planned ISS deorbit, with operations expected to cease in 2030, leading to the ISS's splashdown the following year. The agency aims to ensure a seamless transition to commercial space station providers, though this depends on the development schedules of companies like Axiom Space, Voyager Space's Starlab, and the Blue Origin-Sierra Space venture Orbital Reef.

This mission highlights the evolving partnership between NASA and the commercial space sector, with significant implications for future space exploration and the transition to new orbital infrastructure.