Elon Musk has called for the International Space Station to be deorbited within two years, significantly earlier than NASA's 2030 plan.
By Aniket Chakraborty
Feb 27, 2025
Musk believes the ISS has "served its purpose" and that resources should be redirected toward Mars exploration instead.
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SpaceX was awarded an $843 million contract in June 2024 to build the United States Deorbit Vehicle for the ISS's controlled descent.
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An early deorbit would create a gap in low Earth orbit research, as commercial replacements like Axiom Space won't be ready until 2028 at the earliest.
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The ISS costs NASA approximately $3 billion annually to maintain, with the nearly 30-year-old station requiring increasingly expensive upkeep.
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Most ISS international partners have committed to supporting the station through 2030, while Russia plans to remain involved only until 2028.
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Congressional leaders have opposed abandoning LEO prematurely, warning that it could allow China to fill the void in space station capabilities.
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The ISS has hosted over 4,000 scientific experiments across multiple disciplines, providing unique insights in microgravity conditions.
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Many experts believe ISS research remains essential for future missions to Mars and other deep-space exploration efforts.
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If deorbited early, China would temporarily become the only country with an operational space station, potentially altering the dynamics of international space collaboration.