SpaceX shows off render of future ISS deorbit vehicle

Earlier this month, NASA selected SpaceX to be the builder of the vehicle that will be tasked with deorbiting the International Space Station in the 2030s. While no design was shared, it was said to be built on Dragon heritage hardware. In a new render, SpaceX shows off that it’s not just based on it, it’s basically just a long Dragon.

In a render shared last week alongside a press conference, SpaceX shows off its ISS deorbit vehicle that looks to be just a Dragon spacecraft with a longer trunk filled with thrusters. SpaceX stated during the press conference that the vehicle is planned to feature a trunk large enough to encompass a frenzy of Draco thrusters.

The enhance Dragon trunk will be twice as long as a standard trunk section and will be filled with six times the propellent. The thrusters sticking out the back will do the bulk of the deorbiting when the time comes, however NASA will let the station’s orbit naturally decay for about six months after the final crew leaves the station. The final crew will leave once the station’s orbit has decayed down to 330 km, the current orbit is around 400 km.

The front part of the deorbit vehicle looks to be a Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft. It wasn’t discussed if the vehicle would be able to detach and successfully reenter and splashdown in the ocean like other Dragons, however having that capability could be useful.

NASA will purchase SpaceX’s deorbit vehicle out right, operating it themselves versus current commercial services contracts. The agency will also procure a launch vehicle separately as the Falcon 9 rocket isn’t capable of launch the deorbit vehicle due to its increased weight.

SpaceX said it would happily launch it if its selected but didn’t speculate what rocket they would pitch. Given the similarities the Falcon 9, the Falcon Heavy seems to be the obvious choice, and would make for a crazy photo as the Dragon would never fly on the Falcon Heavy otherwise. However, a pitch of Starship wouldn’t be out of the question either.

NASA plans to procure its deorbit vehicle’s ride to space no earlier than three years before launch.