SpaceX has been granted an $843m contract by Nasa to help deorbit the International Space Station (ISS) once it reaches the end of its operational life.

Nasa currently plans to decommission the ISS in 2031 and instead support the creation of private Earth-orbiting space stations used by multiple customers.

The ISS’s power, communication and life support systems are all designed to be repairable in orbit by astronauts or robotic operations. But while maintenance and upgrades happen all the time, the degradation of the station’s structure will eventually limit its time in orbit.

SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the US Deorbit Vehicle to bring the ISS back down to Earth. As a large space structure, the deorbiting procedure needs to be carried out carefully to avoid the possibility of exacerbating the growing space junk problem while reducing risk to those on the ground.

Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate at Nasa headquarters, said...