Nasa has awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX with the monumental task of deorbiting the International Space Station after 2030.
The $843 million contract, announced by the space agency on Thursday, includes the development of the United States Deorbit Vehicle that will dock with the station and perform a series of manoeuvres to bring it down safely into an ocean.
The station, which has been orbiting the planet for more than two decades, is nearing its end of operational life, with signs of ageing components and systems.
“Nasa announced SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the US Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the space station and ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas,” Nasa said.
The ISS has served as a beacon of international co-operation since 1998, bringing together five major space agencies, including Nasa, the Japanese, European, Canadian space agencies and Russia’s Roscosmos.
More than 270 astronauts and cosmonauts, including UAE's Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and two Saudi astronauts, have served missions aboard the station, carrying out thousands of experiments that have helped the science community on ground.
SpaceX to supply Nasa with the deorbiting vehicle
Nasa had asked companies earlier this year to submit proposals of technologies that could be used to help bring the station back down safely.
Its selection of SpaceX comes as no surprise, as the rocket company has already flown Nasa astronauts to and back from the space station since 2021 and has a $2.89 billion contract to land astronauts on the lunar surface using its Starship technology.
Nasa hires the services of SpaceX to use its Falcon 9 rockets to launch astronauts, but in this contract, the space agency would own the vehicle.
“While the company will develop the deorbit spacecraft, Nasa will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission,” the space agency said.
“Along with the space station, it is expected to destructively break up as part of the re-entry process.”
What about Russia?
The US segment is the largest on the ISS, after Russia, with both countries having a politically strained relationship on the ground, but have co-operated well in orbit.
Russia has agreed to work with the US when it is time to retire the station.
However, in the early days of when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, former Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin threatened to drop the station on the US, Europe, China or India because of sanctions placed on the country by the West.
“If you block co-operation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit,” he had posted on X, on February 24, 2022.
China, which is quickly emerging as a global space power, completed its station, called the Tianong, in low-Earth orbit.
Once the ISS retires, Nasa will shift its focus on helping to commercialise orbit, with several companies working towards launching commercial space stations.
End of an era
For the majority of its lifespan, the ISS has remained a symbol of international co-operation, rising above geopolitical tensions on Earth.
Thousands of research investigations have taken place aboard the laboratory, including helping to advance medical fields such as human physiology, where studies on muscle atrophy and bone density loss have provided insights into osteoporosis and muscle degeneration.
Space research has also contributed to understanding cardiovascular health, immune system responses and the development of new medical technologies and treatments for conditions such as cancer and infectious diseases.
Missions aboard the station also led to several spin-off technologies, such as advanced water purification systems now used in remote communities on Earth and robotic surgical devices that make minimally invasive surgeries possible.
Materials and technologies developed for the space station are now also being used on the ground to improve solar panels and safety gear for firefighters.
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Less than 5,000 steps - sedentary
5,000 - 9,999 steps - lightly active
10,000 - 12,500 steps - active
12,500 - highly active
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
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Dust storm
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- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
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Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
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Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
