Elon Musk calls for International Space Station to be deorbited by 2027

Plus: ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen not happy with SpaceX chief for 'lie' about 'abandoned' Starliner crew

SpaceX boss Elon Musk has called for the International Space Station (ISS) to be deorbited as soon as possible, perhaps by 2027.

Yesterday, Musk tweeted on his social media mouthpiece, X, that: "It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station". He claimed the outpost had served its purpose and "There is very little incremental utility."

Later, the billionaire, who also leads DOGE, an organization charged with improving the efficiency of the US government, said, "I recommend 2 years from now."

The ISS is aging, and before Musk's intervention, the plan was to deorbit it in 2030. SpaceX was awarded a contract in 2024 worth almost a billion dollars to do the deed but will need to work fast if Musk's suggestion is accepted by the US President, Donald Trump. The original plan required a de-orbit vehicle to be ready by 2029.

Musk's statement comes as the US space agency, NASA, is going through a period of uncertainty. Budget worries, job cuts, and the prospect of SpaceX customer, Jared Isaacman, being its administrator weigh heavily on the agency. Therefore, the possibility of an axe falling on a flagship program such as the ISS will be unwelcome.

NASA's international partners, such as the European Space Agency (ESA), expect the ISS to remain in orbit until 2030 or beyond. Russia has committed to keeping the ISS going until 2028. The Register asked ESA for its thoughts on the matter, and a spokesperson said, "The International Space Station is a project involving various international partners. As such, all matters regarding the ISS are discussed together with all space agencies involved."

'What a lie'

Musk's assertions about the ISS came on the same day he exchanged some harsh words with ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen on the Tesla and SpaceX boss's own social media platform, X. Mogensen had commented on an interview the South African tech mogul had given to Fox News's Sean Hannity, in which Musk claimed the Starliner crew had been "abandoned" on the ISS for "political reasons." The Danish astronaut opined on X: "What a lie."

The Tesla boss then immediately retorted in the thread, implying Mogensen has an intellectual disability (although he went for the pejorative), and insisted that SpaceX could have returned the crew months ago, but that the Biden administration rejected the offer and the return "WAS pushed back for political reasons."

He did not elaborate on what that offer was.

During an interview with The Register in 2024, Mogensen said there was every chance the ISS program could be extended beyond 2030. Less than three hours after Musk fired off his taunt, the billionaire called for an end to the outpost sooner than planned.

An early end to the ISS also has commercial implications. Several private companies have plans for stations in Low Earth Orbit, but even the most optimistic timeline won't result in a standalone station before 2028. Unless, of course, SpaceX manages to get some Starships into orbit to replicate some of the utility of the ISS.

The ISS is hitting its stride in terms of utilization. The station typically has at least seven crew members on board; the number fluctuates during crew rotations using the three-person Soyuz and four-person Crew Dragon spacecraft. There are, therefore, resources available for research as well as maintaining the outpost itself. As such, an earlier-than-planned ditching would be a waste.

Taken at face value, Musk's desire to get to Mars appears to be the driving factor. His company, SpaceX, already has lucrative contracts to keep the ISS supplied with crew and cargo. An early end to the ISS would mean no further contracts. Yet it would also free up resources to fund a human mission to Mars.

However, ESA's comments that the fate of the ISS is something upon which all international partners must agree, as well as the need to get US lawmakers to give the plan the green light, indicates that just tweeting something does not necessarily make it policy. ®