Elon Musk Calls for Destroying the Space Station as Soon as Possible
To SpaceX CEO and unelected White House advisor Elon Musk, the planned deorbiting of the International Space Station can't come soon enough.
"It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the space station," he tweeted today. "It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility."
Musk also reiterated his desire to abandon current plans to visit the surface of the Moon, adding "let's go to Mars."
Confusingly, NASA is already working with Musk's SpaceX to develop a "US Deorbit Vehicle" designed to pull the aging orbital lab out of its orbit starting in 2030. The agency announced it had selected the company in June.
Is Musk aimlessly trying to make more enemies within NASA's ranks — or are his comments yet another smoke screen as he spreads chaos throughout the government?
When Ars Technica's Eric Berger asked Musk if he was "suggesting that the ISS be deorbited prior to 2030," Musk stopped short of offering any concrete plans, arguing that "the decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible."
"I recommend 2 years from now," he added.
It's a baffling new development, considering that plans for the station's destruction were already well underway.
Musk also appears to be throwing the entire scientific community under the bus by arguing that there's "little incremental utility."
Despite its old age — the cracks are literally starting to show — the ISS has served and still serves an extremely important function, allowing scientists to conduct important experiments in microgravity, including the feasibility of humanity embarking on long journeys through outer space.
For one, that's research that aligns extremely closely with Musk's goals of delivering humans to Mars.
NASA also doesn't have another space station lined up, except for several private partnerships that may or may not result in the launch of privately owned orbital labs before the end of the decade.
Musk's latest tweet also highlights a growing deviation between NASA's current priorities and his own. Musk's space company holds tens of billions of dollars worth of government contracts, evidence of his naked conflict of interest as the boss — or whatever he is — of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is currently making brutal cuts to federal spending.
More on the ISS: Trump's Anti-DEI Agenda Could Put Astronauts in Real Danger
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