NASA needs a design for $1 billion space-tug for International Space Station

Taking the aging International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit will require a potentially $1 billion space-tug – and NASA just recently kicked off its search for design proposals of such a spacecraft.

The space-tug that NASA has started fielding proposals for will be "focused on the final deorbit activity" of the entire process that will ultimately see it come out of orbit somewhere over an ocean far away from people, NASA said earlier this month in a blog post. The spacecraft, which can be a novel design or a modification of an existing one, has been officially referred to as the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle. 

NASA indicated earlier in the year that the spacecraft could cost around $1 billion, according to reports. Industry members have until Nov. 17 to submit their design proposals.

The decision to pursue the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle came after NASA and partners conducted reviews that "indicate a new spacecraft solution would provide more robust capabilities for responsible deorbit," the agency said. Russian spacecraft having a role had previously been weighed. 

AIRBUS, VOYAGER SPACE FORM JOINT VENTURE TO BUILD NEW SPACE STATION

For designing, developing, testing and evaluating the spacecraft, those submitting proposals can either seek a "Firm Fixed Price" or "Cost Plus Incentive Fee," while the other portions of the contract will use a "Firm Fixed Price," according to NASA. Value and competition reasons prompted the agency to do so.

NASA will require the space-tug to "function on its first flight and have sufficient redundancy and anomaly recovery capability to continue deorbit burn," according to its blog post. 

It will, however, be some time before the spacecraft has to do its job in the ISS deorbit, for which NASA has said all the agencies involved in the ISS have responsibility. 

NASA, ROCKET LAB LAUCH PART OF SATELLITE CONSTELLATION TO STUDY TROPICAL STORM SYSTEMS

NASA and three other space agencies – the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency – plan for about seven more years of ISS usage. By that time, it will have been in space for three decades.

The other agency involved in the ISS, Russia’s State Space Corporation, has pledged to do so "through at least 2028," according to NASA. 

NASA said it expected the full process of bringing the U.S. Deorbit Device to fruition to span years. 

NASA DEVELOPING SNAKE-LIKE ROBOT TO SEARCH FOR LIFE ON ONE OF SATURN'S MOONS

Post-ISS, the agency has goals of using commercial space stations for its low orbit efforts, according to the blog post. Some big-name companies have been working on concepts for those. 

One astronaut for NASA and two for Russia recently left the ISS, returning to Earth on Wednesday morning, according to another blog post. The ISS is now hosting seven astronauts, including two affiliated with NASA, one with ESA, one with JAXA and three with Russia.