Musk’s Plan to Kill the ISS Early Is a Selfish, Shortsighted Move

The immediate future of the International Space Station is suddenly in doubt thanks to a single tweet. Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and unelected advisor to President Donald Trump on basically everything, wants the venerable station gone, and he wants it gone sooner rather than later. On Thursday, Musk posted on his X platform that he believes it’s “time to begin preparations for deorbiting” the ISS. “It has served its purpose,” he declared. “There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars.” When asked to elaborate, Musk said his hope is to see the orbital lab gone by 2027, roughly three years ahead of its scheduled decommissioning. Indeed, the ISS is nearing the end of its lifespan, and preparations for its retirement have been underway for some time. That said, a premature shutdown comes with important considerations. While the ISS is undoubtedly getting up there in years, it still has half a decade to go before the planned decommissioning; the lab remains operational, us ... Read full article.