Point Nemo is approximately 2,500km from land and is considered a safe place for the space platform to splash down. Its name was derived from the famous captain in Jules Verne's book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
It is understood the contract is up to $843m which is around £668m for SpaceX who will create a sort of tug to bring down the station when it reaches the end of its working life. The details of the designs have not yet been released by either NASA or SpaceX.
Ken Bowersox, NASA's director of space operations said: "Selecting a US De-orbit Vehicle for the International Space Station (ISS) will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports NASA's plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth."
Since 1998, five space agencies, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and State Space Corporation Roscosmos, have operated the International Space Station with each agency responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions from across the partnership to function. The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA have committed to operating the station through 2030. Russia has committed to continued station operations through at least 2028. The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies.
In its 24th year of continuously crewed operations, the space station is a unique scientific platform where crew members conduct experiments across multiple disciplines of research, including Earth and space science, biology, human physiology, physical sciences, and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth. Crews living aboard station are the hands of thousands of researchers on the ground having conducted more than 3,300 experiments in microgravity. Station is the cornerstone of space commerce, from commercial crew and cargo partnerships to commercial research and national lab research, and lessons learned aboard the International Space Station are helping to pass the torch to future commercial stations.
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