SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the International Space Station has ‘very little incremental utility’ Elon Musk has said the International Space Station (ISS) has…
John Williams
2025-02-23 17:05:48

SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the International Space Station has ‘very little incremental utility’

Elon Musk has said the International Space Station (ISS) has ‘served its purpose’ and has explained why he’s keen to get rid of it before the existing 2030 timeframe.

The ISS has been operated by the likes of NASA, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency since 1998.

However, its lifetime is limited by its primary structure from wear and tear.

NASA has examined several options for decommissioning of the International Space Station, including disassembly and return to Earth, boosting to a higher orbit, natural orbital decay with random re-entry, and controlled targeted re-entry to a remote ocean area,” NASA explained.

All but Russia have committed to operating the station through 2030, but the Vladimir Putin led country have only committed to at least 2028.

The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies,” NASA previously said.

Musk, whose SpaceX company has been tasked with building a deorbit vehicle for the ISS, wants to decommission the space station by 2026.

The SpaceX boss, 53, is hoping to colonise Mars from 2050 so reckons that the International Space Station (ISS) is no longer needed.