Elon Musk is renewing his call to retire the International Space Station
(ISS) following warnings from a former NASA engineer about its
deteriorating condition. Alarming Structural Risks Revealed Casey Handmer,
a physicist and former engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
raised concerns on X about the 26-year-old station’s weakening
structure. “We could wake up tomorrow […]
The post Elon Musk Calls for International Space Station to Be Deorbited
by 2027 appeared first on Orbital Today.
https://orbitaltoday.com/2025/06/14/elon-musk-calls-for-international-space-station-to-be-deorbited-by-2027/View article
View summary
#^Elon Musk Calls for International Space Station to Be Deorbited by 2027Elon Musk is renewing his
call to retire the International Space Station (ISS) following warnings from a former NASA engineer about its deteriorating condition.
Alarming Structural Risks Revealed
Casey Handmer, a physicist and former engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, raised concerns on X about the 26-year-old station’s weakening structure.
“We could wake up tomorrow and find, with zero warning, that it has failed catastrophically,” Handmer wrote on X.
He explained that multiple cracks had already been discovered in the station’s pressurised sections. These parts were never intended to crack. He said the metal is becoming harder and more brittle over time, increasing the risk of sudden failure.
Credit: CJHandmer on X
Musk Responds With Urgent Deorbit Call
Elon Musk responded to Handmer’s warning by expressing serious concerns about the ISS’s long-term safety. He pointed out that several parts of the station are aging, and the risk of failure increases over time. Despite SpaceX earning billions from transporting astronauts and cargo to the ISS, Musk said he believes it should be deorbited within two years.
Credit: @elonmusk on X
This is not the first time Musk has made this recommendation. As head of the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year, he advised President Trump to bring down the station “as soon as possible.”
Just hours before Musk’s latest comments, NASA postponed the launch of
Axiom Mission 4 due to a pressure leak in one of the ISS’s Russian-built modules. The leak was discovered in the aft section of the Zvezda service module.
Increasing Frequency of Leaks
Leaks on the ISS have become more common. One particularly worrying leak in late 2024 had been worsening for five years and prompted fears of a “catastrophic failure,” according to NASA.
NASA and Roscosmos have disagreed over the cause of the leak. Russian engineers blame “high cyclic fatigue” caused by micro-vibrations, while NASA cites multiple causes, including pressure stress, material fatigue, and environmental wear.
SpaceX Tasked With Future Deorbiting
Despite his urgency, Musk acknowledged that early retirement of the ISS isn’t straightforward. The station is operated by NASA and its international partners, including Russia, Japan, Canada, and ESA member nations.
In 2024, NASA awarded SpaceX an
$843 million contract to build a spacecraft that will guide the ISS safely back to Earth in 2030. However, that amount only covers the vehicle’s construction, not the full deorbiting process.
NASA is currently seeking $1.5 billion in additional funding to complete the project.
A Shift in Space Priorities
Musk has consistently voiced a desire to move beyond the ISS.
“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars,” Musk posted in February 2025.
NASA’s official position, however, is to continue using the ISS until 2030 while transitioning to commercial stations in low Earth orbit. The agency says this will serve as a training and research base for future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The decision to bring down the ISS earlier would require agreement from all partner nations and approval from the US Congress.
The post
Elon Musk Calls for International Space Station to Be Deorbited by 2027 appeared first on
Orbital Today.
