Elon Musk’s bold £900m plan to destroy the International Space Station

Elon Musk, the SpaceX boss, has drawn up intricate plans to destroy the ISS as it enters its final years of operation.

In the year 2031, the world will witness an event unlike anything we’ve seen before—a spectacular celestial show as the colossal remains of the Orbital Titan, once the pride of human space exploration, plunge toward .

This isn’t a typical meteor shower. The fiery streaks in the sky will be the remnants of the largest man-made object ever to be in orbit, a metallic giant that for nearly three decades played host to astronauts, scientific experiments, and international collaboration.

The Orbital Titan, also known as , had a remarkable run. Constructed piece by piece from 1998 onwards, the ISS was a testament to what could be achieved through cooperation between nations. At a staggering cost of $150billion (£122billion), it became humanity’s outpost in the void, a hub where science and exploration thrived far beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

But as with all great endeavours, the station’s time in orbit was always limited. Since its launch, the ISS has circled the Earth non-stop, never once uninhabited, with astronauts from around the world making their mark on its metal skeleton.

For generations, it has been a constant in the sky, a beacon of human ingenuity and determination. However, all good things must come to an end. Despite the ISS’s remarkable longevity, wear and tear have begun to take their toll. Over the years, the station’s ageing infrastructure has shown signs of struggle.

Cracks have appeared in the modules, and vital systems have started to degrade. Even its once pristine solar panels, which powered countless experiments, have been ravaged by the harsh conditions of space. has reported that much of its portion of the station is no longer fit for the rigours of spaceflight.

By 2031, the ISS will come crashing back to Earth in a controlled re-entry. , was awarded a monumental contract in late 2024: to safely guide the Orbital Titan’s demise. SpaceX will use a massive tether to gently steer the station from its long-time orbit and direct it toward its watery grave—the remote Pacific Ocean, specifically a desolate area known as Point Nemo, where spacecraft go to rest.

The station’s controlled descent will be a spectacle like no other. As it moves closer to Earth, it will burn through the atmosphere at tens of thousands of kilometres per hour. The heat will cause intense friction, causing massive fireballs to trail across the sky.

Large sections of the ISS, like its truss and main framework, will survive re-entry, falling to the ocean floor in twisted, charred remains. The solar panels, which had once captured the light of distant stars, will break apart and burn in the inferno.

Many wonder why the station shouldn’t simply be left to burn up on its own in space. The answer lies in the dangers of uncontrolled debris. As the ISS naturally loses altitude over time, it would eventually succumb to Earth’s gravity, but the risk of Kessler Syndrome—a chain reaction of space debris collisions—is too great.

, spent rocket stages, and fragments from past space missions. Left unchecked, this debris could endanger future missions and even destroy vital space infrastructure, including weather satellites and communication systems.

In the face of mounting challenges, NASA and its partners agreed that a controlled re-entry was the safest option. The Pacific Ocean was selected due to its remoteness, and it is here that the ISS will make its final descent.

In the years following the ISS’s final descent, new space stations will take its place, though not necessarily for the same purposes. The domain of low Earth orbit is no longer solely for government-run missions; private companies are already working on ambitious projects. Space tourism will become more commonplace, with commercial space stations providing luxurious accommodations for the rich and adventurers alike.

The ISS’s successors will also serve as experimental hubs for manufacturing, zero-gravity research, and scientific innovation. While these new ventures will look to profit from the vast potential of space, they will stand on the shoulders of the pioneering work done aboard the ISS.

The future of space exploration will also see humanity’s ambitions reach new heights, with plans for lunar bases and Mars missions gaining momentum. Space agencies from all over the world—especially China and India—are rapidly advancing their space programs, ensuring that the legacy of the ISS will live on. The lessons learned from the station’s design, construction, and operation will be invaluable in the quest to establish permanent outposts beyond Earth.