NASA's Private Tenant Plan to Replace ISS and Save Millions.

NASA is developing a spacecraft, with the help of existing space partners, capable of safely deorbiting the International Space Station over the ocean when its active life ends in 2030. The $27.2 billion allocated to NASA included $180 million to initiate the development of a new “space tug.” The device would supplement the current procedure that relies on engine burns by robotic cargo vehicles from Russia. The funding will also enable unprecedented lunar exploration activities by sending astronauts to the Red Planet through NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.