International Space Station prepares for new commander, heads into final five years of planned operations

After 25 years of continuous human presence, the International Space Station is heading into its final half decade of planned habitation. NASA and its international partners are planning to intentionally deorbit the orbiting laboratory around 2030 or shortly thereafter. SpaceX was contracted valued at up to $843 million to build the United States Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), which will help guide the space station towards a splashdown in an uninhabited portion of the Pacific Ocean. More

(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 6)