NASA and SpaceX have provided more details about the USDV, the vehicle that will complete the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX provided more about USDVHe American rendezvous vehicle from orbitUnited States Deorbit Vehicle, a spacecraft that the company plans to build to complete the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of its life. As shown in the illustration, it will be based on the Dragon, but instead of the usual “trunk”, it will have a special service module designed to perform the task.

In fact, SpaceX will use one of USDV’s Dragon cargo ships. But the service module will carry six times more fuel — a total of 16,000 kilograms and I’ll go 46 Draco engines16 in the capsule itself and 30 in the barrel. This will give the ship four times the power of a standard Dragon. With a total weight of 30 tons, it will have to be launched. in Falcon Heavy.

USDV will dock at the ISS’s forward port at approximately one year until the end of the season. It’s scheduled for 2030, but NASA doesn’t want to leave a gap between the ISS’s closure and the launch of commercial space stations, so it’s possible things will be delayed a bit to avoid that. But until it docks with the ISS, USDV can remain in free-flight; hence its huge solar panels.

This video gives an idea of ​​what the ISS’s re-entry into the atmosphere will be like. But it was taken when the Russian Progress capsules were expected to take on the task:

It will no doubt be a sad day when we have to say goodbye to what has been our home in space since November 2, 2000.