NASA awards SpaceX $843M to build vehicle to push Int'l Space Station out of orbit

June 27 (UPI) -- NASA has awarded SpaceX $843 million to develop a new vehicle that can push the International Space Station out of orbit as part of the space laboratory's planned retirement, the federal agency said.

The ISS is planned for its operational life to finish around 2030, and SpaceX was announced by NASA on Wednesday that it has been commissioned to develop a so called deorbit spacecraft vehicle that will deorbit it in a controlled manner and avoid risking populated areas.

"Selecting a U.S. 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," Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA, said in a statement.

The ISS has been in operation for 24 years, and its deorbiting is the responsibility of all five space agencies that have been operating it since 1998.

Canada, Europe, Japan and the United States have committed to operating it until 2030, while Russia has committed to operating it until at least 2028, NASA said.

NASA has said that while much of the orbital laboratory is repairable and replaceable in orbit, the primary structure of the station, including the crewed modules and the truss structures, which are subject to dynamic loading events, cannot be, giving the ISS a finite lifetime.

"NASA has concluded that deorbiting the International Space Station using a U.S.-developed deorbit vehicle, with a final target in a remote part of the ocean, is the best option for the station's end of life," the federal agency said in a recent report.

NASA has also said that the United States plans to transition its operations in low-Earth orbit to commercially owned and operated destinations.