SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has suggested an earlier-than-planned deorbiting of the International Space Station (ISS), saying it has "served its purpose" and has "very little" incremental utility.
“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let's go to Mars,” Musk wrote on his social networking platform X.
“The decision (to deorbit ISS) is up to the President (Donald Trump) but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now,” the world's richest person added, responding to a comment on his post by journalist Eric Berger.
In 2021, the previous Joe Biden administration had extended ISS's planned lifetime through the end of June 2030, and in June last year, awarded Elon Musk's SpaceX a $843 million contract to develop a spacecraft that could attach to the ISS and guide it out of orbit.
Such a disposal would cause the ISS to break up as it plunges through the atmosphere.
A major partner on the ISS programme, SpaceX has also been contracted by NASA to deliver astronauts and cargo to the station.
Musk, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has established himself as a key adviser of the US President, in whose second term the former heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, the new US government's cost-cutting effort.
NASA responds
{{/usCountry}}Musk, a vocal supporter of Donald Trump, has established himself as a key adviser of the US President, in whose second term the former heads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, the new US government's cost-cutting effort.
NASA responds
{{/usCountry}}A NASA spokesperson said the US space agency's current plans “call for using the International Space Station, and future commercial space stations, in low Earth orbit to conduct groundbreaking science, as well as a training ground for crewed missions to the Moon and Mars”.
“We’re looking forward to hearing more about the Trump Administration’s plans for our agency and expanding exploration for the benefit of all,” the NASA spokesperson said in a statement.
International Space Station
Launched in November 1998, the International Space Station was jointly built by five national space agencies: Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, and the United States.
It has been a staple of NASA’s human spaceflight initiatives for the last three decades, serving as the primary location where astronauts live and conduct research in orbit.
Since November of 2000, the ISS has always had at least one crew member on board at all times.
(With Bloomberg inputs)