Elon Musk has called for the ISS to be de-orbited immediately. “It’s time to start preparing to de-orbit the ISS,” he wrote on his X social network. “It has served its time. There is very little use for it. Let’s go to Mars.”
When asked by journalist Eric Berger to clarify whether this means de-orbiting the ISS sooner than 2030 (the current planned decommissioning date for the station), Musk replied that it should be destroyed as quickly as possible. “It’s the president’s decision, but I recommend doing it as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now,” the billionaire wrote.
Musk’s fresh statements threaten to further complicate relations between him, NASA, and other U.S. space companies that have contracts to deliver cargo to the ISS and may perceive this initiative as an attempt by SpaceX to destroy competitors. It will also jeopardize NASA’s longstanding cooperation with international partners who have agreed to operate the ISS until 2030.
Last year, SpaceX was awarded an $843-million contract to build the USDV vehicle that will de-orbit the ISS in the future. At the time of the agreement, NASA stated its preference that USDV be ready for launch by August 2028. At this point, it is unclear whether USDV development can be accelerated to meet Musk’s goal of deorbiting as early as 2027.
It should be taken into account that Congress allocates funding for the creation of the USDV. And there are many supporters of the continuation of the ISS operation until 2030. Musk’s twits can significantly complicate the process of confirmation of Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator. He is scheduled to begin meetings with U.S. senators next week. And Isaacman will surely have to answer the question about his attitude to this initiative and take a side.
It is also worth noting that Musk’s comments came just after he criticized ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, who worked on the ISS between August 2023 and March 2024. In his post, Mogensen criticized Musk for a television interview that claimed NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were left on the ISS for political reasons by the Biden administration. The astronaut said that neither Musk nor others had presented any evidence to support the claim and called it a lie (Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have also repeatedly said in interviews that no one abandoned them in space).
In response, Max called Mogenson an “idiot” and “retarded” stating that SpaceX offered to bring Williams and Wilmore back earlier, but the Biden administration refused. And hours afterward, the billionaire suggested that the ISS be de-orbited as soon as possible.
