The short answer
NASA's plan of record is still the end of 2030. The last crew leaves, and a purpose-built SpaceX tug attaches to the empty station and steers all 430 tonnes of it into the South Pacific near Point Nemo, with the final burn at the end of 2030 or early 2031. The tug is under contract; NASA estimates SpaceX will complete it in 2028 and launch it in mid-2029, and NASA will decide in 2027 whether to go ahead or extend the station.
But 2030 is not a settled date. On March 4, 2026 the Senate Commerce Committee approved S. 933, which would keep the station through at least 2032; it has not passed the Senate. In June GAO said NASA faces several risks that could lead to a gap, with no American station in orbit, and estimated that at NASA's historical pace a commercial station is more likely ready in 2031. Haven-1 has slipped to 2027 and Axiom's first module to 2028.
So: 2030 on paper, with real pressure toward later, and a replacement picture that is smaller and later than it looked a year ago. We keep every dated promise in the commercial stations Promise Tracker. The rest of this guide is the detail, dated as of September 26, 2026.
What changed in 2026
NASA tried a new plan, then dropped it. On March 24, 2026 NASA proposed buying a government-owned core module, attached to the ISS, that commercial modules would dock to. After industry objections it withdrew the idea on June 2. Its July 6 draft request for proposals goes back to buying services from commercial free-flying stations, with fixed-price contracts and two or more companies funded through early development. Awards, projected in 2025 for summer 2026, now look like spring 2027 at the earliest by Ars Technica's reading; NASA has published no date.
Congress pushed back on the date. S. 933, the NASA Transition Authorization Act, would keep the station flying through at least 2032. The Senate Commerce Committee approved it on March 4, 2026; it has not passed the Senate. It is not law, but it is the clearest signal yet that the legislature does not accept a gap.
Russia signed on to 2030. Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov said on July 14, 2026 that the agencies agreed to extend joint operations through 2030, and in August that they were negotiating deorbit responsibilities. Russia's own station, ROS, is projected to start in 2028 with modules that dock to the ISS first.
How you deorbit 430 tonnes
You cannot leave it. The ISS orbits low enough that atmospheric drag pulls it down without regular reboosts; abandoned, it would re-enter uncontrolled within a few years and large pieces would reach the ground somewhere nobody chose. So the ending has to be steered.
The tool is the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, a SpaceX-built spacecraft for one mission. NASA awarded the contract in June 2024, worth up to $843 million. On GAO's description of the plan, the station's orbit starts coming down in early to mid 2028, the vehicle launches and attaches in mid-2029, and a final re-entry burn at the end of 2030 or early 2031 targets the South Pacific near Point Nemo, the “spacecraft cemetery” farthest from any coastline. Most of the structure burns up; the pieces that do not fall into open ocean.
The alternative that comes up in Congress, boosting the station to a higher storage orbit, would need propellant the station does not have and a vehicle nobody has contracted, and it defers the same problem to a later decade. It has advocates; it does not have a plan.
The timeline, dated
- Jun 2024NASA picks SpaceX to build the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, under a contract worth up to $843M.
- Mar 4, 2026The Senate Commerce Committee approves S. 933, which would keep the ISS through at least 2032. It has not passed the Senate.
- Mar 24, 2026NASA proposes a government-owned core module attached to the ISS, as an extra option for the successor.
- Jun 2, 2026NASA drops the core-module idea after industry objections.
- Jun 17, 2026GAO (GAO-26-107805): NASA faces several risks that could lead to a gap and has not assessed how likely or long one would be; at NASA's historical pace a commercial station is more likely ready in 2031.
- Jul 6, 2026NASA's draft request for proposals returns to buying services from commercial free-flyers, with two or more companies funded through early development.
- Jul 14, 2026Roscosmos says it agreed with NASA to extend joint ISS operations through 2030.
- 2027NASA decides whether to launch the deorbit vehicle in 2029 or extend the station (GAO).
- 2028SpaceX completes the deorbit vehicle (NASA estimate); the station's orbit starts coming down in early to mid 2028.
- Mid-2029The deorbit vehicle launches and attaches to the ISS (plan).
- End 2030 / early 2031Final re-entry burn over the South Pacific near Point Nemo (plan, per GAO).
What replaces it: where each station stands
Status as of September 26, 2026. Every target is the developer's stated one; the status column says what has actually happened.
| Station | What it is | Target | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haven-1Vast | Single-module free-flyer on Falcon 9; crews of four for ~10 days via Crew Dragon. | Q1 2027 | slippedIn integration. Slipped from August 2025, then May 2026; Vast reaffirmed Q1 2027 on September 18, 2026. First crewed visit planned for 2027. |
| Axiom StationAxiom Space | Modules attach to the ISS first. At NASA's request the order changed: the Payload Power Thermal Module goes up first, then undocks and joins the Hab One habitat to free-fly. | Power module (PPTM) early 2028, habitat months later | slippedBuilding; slipped from early 2027 (Axiom, January 12, 2026). Ax-5, the fifth private crew mission, is NET January 2027. |
| StarlabVoyager Space / Airbus, with Northrop Grumman | One large module launched whole on a single Starship. | 2029 | slippedPassed NASA commercial critical design review on February 23, 2026; slipped from 2027, then 2028. Launches on a single Starship. |
| Orbital ReefBlue Origin / Sierra Space | Multi-module station with an inflatable LIFE habitat; core on New Glenn. | No current date | plannedDesign. Announced in 2021 for "the latter half of the 2020s"; no dated target since. New Glenn's only pad was damaged in the May 28, 2026 explosion. |
| Russian Orbital Station (ROS)Roscosmos | Russia's successor. Its first modules dock to the ISS Russian segment and leave near the end of ISS operations; Russia agreed in July 2026 to fly the ISS through 2030. | First module 2028 | plannedProjected for 2028 by Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov (April 2026). |
| TiangongChina | Three-module national station; the Shenzhou-23 crew entered on May 25, 2026. | Operating | buildingThe only other crewed station in orbit; would be the only one if the ISS left before a successor was up. |
Side by side: Axiom vs Vast · Starlab vs Orbital Reef · every station, including the ISS and Tiangong.
The gap
Put the two halves of this guide together and the problem is visible. The ISS leaves at the end of 2030 on the current plan. The only commercial station in integration, Haven-1, is a single module for short visits, targeted for early 2027 after two slips. Axiom's first module is now early 2028, attached to the ISS first. Starlab is 2029 and needs Starship. Orbital Reef has no current date and needs New Glenn, whose pad is being rebuilt.
That is why GAO asked NASA in June to assess how likely and how long a gap would be, and why the Senate bill would keep the station to 2032. A gap would mean that for the first time since November 2000 there would be no continuous American presence in orbit, while China's Tiangong flies on. Whether that happens turns on two dates: when a successor is crewed, and when the deorbit vehicle actually fires.
What to watch
- S. 933 on the Senate floor. If the 2032 extension becomes law, the plan of record changes.
- NASA's final request for proposals and the awards: which companies NASA funds, and whether the budget stretches to more than one.
- Haven-1's Q1 2027 launch: the first commercial station in orbit, or a third slip. Axiom vs Vast.
- NASA's 2027 decision: launch the deorbit vehicle in 2029, or extend the station.
- The deorbit vehicle, complete in 2028. The tug's schedule is the deorbit's schedule.
Frequently asked
When does the ISS retire?
NASA's plan of record is 2030 (the law says operations through September 30, 2030): the last crew leaves, and a SpaceX-built deorbit vehicle steers the station into the South Pacific, with the final burn at the end of 2030 or early 2031. NASA will decide in 2027 whether to go ahead or extend. A Senate bill, S. 933, would keep the station to at least 2032; it cleared committee on March 4, 2026 and has not passed the Senate. As of September 2026 the honest answer is "2030 on paper, possibly later".
Why not just leave it up there?
Because it would come down anyway, uncontrolled. The station is 430 tonnes in an orbit that decays without regular reboosts; abandoned, it would re-enter within a few years and large pieces would survive to the ground somewhere unpredictable. A controlled deorbit over the remote Pacific is the only responsible ending. Proposals to boost it to a higher parking orbit have some congressional support but no NASA plan behind them.
What is the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle?
A SpaceX-built spacecraft for one job: it attaches to the station and performs the burns that bring it down over the ocean. NASA awarded the contract in June 2024, worth up to $843 million. NASA estimates SpaceX will complete it in 2028; it is planned to launch in mid-2029.
What replaces the ISS?
Nothing on the same scale, and not on the same date. The candidates are Vast's Haven-1 (small, Q1 2027), Axiom's station (first module early 2028, attached to the ISS first), Starlab (2029) and Orbital Reef (no current date). NASA plans to fund two or more of them under its July 2026 draft request for proposals, though a NASA official told GAO the budget likely supports only one. Russia is building its own station, ROS, from 2028, and China's Tiangong is already flying.
Is NASA building its own replacement module?
No longer. On March 24, 2026 NASA proposed a government-owned core module attached to the ISS that commercial modules would dock to. After industry objections it dropped the idea on June 2, 2026, and its July 6 draft request for proposals returns to buying services from commercial free-flying stations.
Will there be a gap with no Americans in orbit?
Possibly. The Government Accountability Office said on June 17, 2026 that NASA faces several risks that could lead to a gap and has not assessed how likely or how long one would be, and that at NASA's historical pace a commercial station would more likely be ready in 2031, after the planned retirement. Haven-1 and Axiom have both slipped again. Whether a gap happens depends on whether any successor is crewed before the ISS leaves.
Is Russia leaving the ISS?
Not before 2030. Roscosmos head Dmitry Bakanov said on July 14, 2026 that the two agencies agreed to extend joint operations through 2030, and in August that they were negotiating who handles which segment during the deorbit. Russia is also building the Russian Orbital Station, with a first module projected for 2028.
Is the station still safe?
It is flying and crewed, but it is old: persistent cracking in the Russian segment and repeated air-leak investigations are the engineering reasons NASA is reluctant to extend past 2030. GAO reports that NASA's latest structural analyses give high confidence the station can operate through 2028, and officials told GAO it could go further if needed.
Can I visit before it goes?
Through Axiom Space, at roughly $55-70 million a seat on a private astronaut mission; Ax-5 is targeted for January 2027. Our space-tourism cost guide has the current figures.
Keep going
- Space stations tracker: the ISS, Tiangong and every commercial station, compared.
- Commercial stations Promise Tracker: every dated station promise, met, missed or moved.
- Axiom vs Vast: the two successors with hardware.
- What it costs to visit: Axiom's ISS missions are the only orbital ticket on sale.
- When is Artemis III?: the other NASA schedule everyone gets wrong.
Sources: NASA releases (Jun 26, 2024; Mar 24 and Jul 6, 2026); GAO-26-107805 (Jun 17, 2026); Senate Commerce Committee, S. 933 markup (Mar 4, 2026); TASS (Jul 14 and Aug 19, 2026); Vast (Jan 20, 2026) and Aviation Week (Sep 18, 2026) on Haven-1; Aerospace America (Jan 12, 2026) on Axiom; Voyager SEC filings on Starlab. Every row with its source is in the Promise Tracker. Dates are the developers' stated targets as of September 26, 2026.