The International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth for about 25 years. It’s getting old, and NASA plans to end its operation by 2030. NASA, Canada, and Europe agreed to use it until 2030, but Russia plans to leave by 2028.
The ISS is too big to burn up completely when it reenters Earth’s atmosphere. To safely bring it down, NASA wants to send a special spacecraft to push the station into the Pacific Ocean. They’re spending around $1 billion to build this spacecraft.
NASA asked American aerospace companies to create the “US Deorbit Vehicle” (USDV) for this task. They need a reliable spacecraft that can do this job well on its first try.
Ending the ISS is tricky because it involves both engineering and international relations. The station was mainly built by the US and Russia, but other countries like Canada, Japan, and Europe helped too. The ISS is one of the rare places where the US and Russia still work together, even during tough times.
Before, NASA thought they might use many Russian spacecraft to bring down the ISS. But coordinating all those spacecraft was always going to be hard, especially during any problems between countries.