Countdown

International Space Station Deorbit

Name: International Space Station Deorbit
Start: 2030-12-31
Location: Global

Tuesday, December 31, 2030 · 1517 days away

GlobalSpacescheduled

Countdown

1516

Days

Hours

Min

Sec

Reminders

Discord

Event overview

End of the ISS programme: NASA, ESA, JAXA, and CSA targeted deorbit by Dec 31, 2030 (Roscosmos exits 2028). SpaceX's $843M USDV will guide a destructive Pacific reentry over Point Nemo.

Date: 2030-12-31
Country / jurisdiction: Global
Region: Global
Category: Space
Status: scheduled

Editorial context

Why this date is being tracked

The International Space Station is scheduled for controlled deorbit in 2030 after more than three decades of continuous human presence in low Earth orbit (since November 2, 2000). NASA awarded SpaceX a contract valued at up to $843 million in late June 2024 to build the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) — a modified Dragon spacecraft with an enlarged trunk housing 46 Draco thrusters (16 attitude-control plus 30 deorbit-burn) to lower the 420-tonne station's perigee for a controlled, uninhabited splashdown over Point Nemo in the South Pacific. The deorbit sequence runs roughly 12-18 months of atmospheric drag descent followed by the USDV's final burn. NASA has committed to using and operating the station through 2030 in partnership with Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA, after which commercial replacement stations (Axiom, Starlab, Orbital Reef, Vast) are expected to take over the LEO research role.

Manually verified sources

Last manual verification: 2026-05-11. This note adds context only; the source trail below still controls date confidence.

Confirmation checklist

Before you act on this countdown

Use the timer for orientation, then run through these checks before booking, publishing, buying tickets, scheduling alerts, or moving operations around this date.

Date signal

The date is suitable for countdown use, with the source still owning late changes.

Local time

No reliable start time is attached yet, so this page stays date-first instead of implying midnight.

Calendar action

Add it to a calendar after checking the source for time, venue, or access changes.

Next useful path

Use the Space and 2030 paths below to compare related countdowns before deciding what to watch next.

Source trail

Source trail for International Space Station Deorbit

Verify source

Primary source

nasa.gov

Last reviewed

2026-04-30

Tracker status

scheduled

Date precision

Single-date event without a reliable public start time; date-first countdown only.

Schema posture

Event structured data is emitted because the record is single-date and scheduled or confirmed.

This is an expected date. Use reminders and monitoring, but verify the source before making travel, purchase, publication, or staffing decisions.

Primary citation

The current date signal points to nasa.gov. The source URL is shown visibly on the page so readers can verify late changes instead of relying only on the timer.

Freshness and review

Source policy was reviewed on 2026-04-30. Live countdown values are render-time snapshots; editorial source fields update when the tracked event dataset changes.

Operational detail

The record does not carry a reliable public start time yet, so the page avoids implying a midnight or all-day start.

Weak-date handling

The page can support calendar actions and Event schema, while still telling readers to check the source for operational changes.

Background

About this countdown

A detailed editorial write-up for International Space Station Deorbit is being prepared. In the meantime, see the primary source for the most current information.

View source →

Date confidence

Scheduled date

International Space Station Deorbit is tracked as a scheduled event. The date is suitable for countdown and calendar use, while final logistics should still be checked against the linked source.

Source

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-transition/

Source host: nasa.gov
Date precision: Single scheduled date from the linked source
Schema posture: Event startDate emitted because the record is single-date and scheduled/confirmed
Planning boundary: Use as a monitoring aid until the source trail is stronger

Structured data posture

This page emits Event structured data because the tracked record has a single scheduled or confirmed date. The linked source remains the final reference for time, venue, and operational changes.

Countdown evidence

Retention class

Date-first scheduled countdown

Evidence score

6/10 record signals

City-page readiness

Held to date-first

Evidence score6/10 signals present: primary source URL; tracked date; schema-safe date; place context; manual official-source note; related event cluster
Date and schemaSchema-safe single date: Single-date event without a reliable public start time; date-first countdown only. Event structured data is emitted because the record is single-date and scheduled or confirmed.
Local-time readinessDate-first only: The record is not used as a city-local event page until it has a reliable time, timezone, and non-windowed date.
Record completeness1 concrete fields: country Global
Weak-field watchlist3 fields to improve: verified public start time; venue; historical sequence
Source freshnessnasa.gov; reviewed 2026-04-30: Related crawl path: NASA Mars Sample Return Launch, ESA JUICE Mission — Jupiter Arrival, Avatar 4: The Tulkun Rider (Theatrical), Canada Federal Election 2029.

Planning notes

How to use this International Space Station Deorbit countdown

Countdown pages are useful when they are honest about what is known, what is merely expected, and what still needs checking. This page keeps the live timer separate from the source confidence and structured-data posture.

Date confidence

International Space Station Deorbit is tracked as scheduled for Tuesday, December 31, 2030; the countdown can support reminders while final logistics still belong to nasa.gov. The page can emit precise Event structured data because the tracked record has a single scheduled or confirmed date.

What could change

Watch for date shifts, venue or access updates, broadcast windows, registration rules, and source corrections. The current precision is: Single-date event without a reliable public start time; date-first countdown only..

Local-time usefulness

No reliable source start time is attached yet, so the page stays date-first and avoids implying a midnight start. 1,517 days remain at render time.

Category context

International Space Station Deorbit sits in Space with Global context. Related countdown links should help users compare similar events, not create unverified event-city pages.

Catalog-specific details

No creator, platform, league, brand, fixture, family, or alternate-name detail is attached to this event record.

Series and expectation notes

No series history, end date, or what-to-expect field is attached.

Priority note

This page is kept specific through source confidence, category, region, date precision, and update notes rather than generic countdown filler.

Verification trail

source URL https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-transition/. trust checks: Source host: nasa.gov, Date precision: Single scheduled date from the linked source, Schema posture: Event startDate emitted because the record is single-date and scheduled/confirmed, and Planning boundary: Use as a monitoring aid until the source trail is stronger. manual editorial context is attached.

Record completeness

present fields: country Global. missing or weak fields: verified public start time, venue, and historical sequence

Related crawl path

Nearby retained events: NASA Mars Sample Return Launch, ESA JUICE Mission — Jupiter Arrival, Avatar 4: The Tulkun Rider (Theatrical), Canada Federal Election 2029, and Apollo 11 Moon Landing — 60th Anniversary. These links should support topical discovery without creating unverified event-city pages.

Review boundary: this page tracks the public date signal, source link, category, region, and calendar posture. It does not replace official ticketing, exchange, broadcaster, organizer, court, regulator, or government notices.

Source reviewed Apr 30, 2026. The countdown record is intentionally labeled as scheduled or expected; use the source link and any range notes before treating the date as final.

Live values rendered at Nov 5, 7:04 PM UTC.

Related planning pages

Countdown hubAll currently tracked countdowns.Space countdownsRelated events in this category.2030 countdownsEvents tracked for the same calendar year.SourcesHow we cite and review date sources.Speculative datesHow expected and windowed dates are labeled.

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Frequently asked questions

When does International Space Station Deorbit start?

International Space Station Deorbit is scheduled for Tuesday, December 31, 2030. A precise local start time has not been published yet; this page updates when the source confirms it.

How long until International Space Station Deorbit?

International Space Station Deorbit is 1517 days away as of the page render. The live timer above counts down to Tuesday, December 31, 2030 second-by-second in your local time zone.

What time is International Space Station Deorbit in my time zone?

Use the time-zone converter to map Tuesday, December 31, 2030 into your local zone, or pick a major city from the list above to see the exact local start time.