HMM: Elon Musk recommends that the International Space Station be deorbited ASAP.

“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars,” Musk wrote at midday on Thursday.

This original statement was somewhat ambiguous. Last July, NASA awarded Space X an $843 million contract to modify a Dragon spacecraft to serve as a propulsive vehicle to safely guide the aging space station into the Pacific Ocean in 2030. So in some sense, preparations are already underway to shut down the laboratory.

I asked Musk if he meant that NASA and the US government should commit to the 2030 end-of-life date, or if he wanted to accelerate the timeline for the station’s demise.

“The decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now,” Musk replied.

Is it a good idea? Maybe. But it could certainly get complicated:

President Trump could propose shutting down the space station, but the budget for the deorbit vehicle (which is necessary, otherwise the station might make an uncontrolled reentry over land) must be funded by Congress.

The space station has key supporters in Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), in whose state the orbiting laboratory is managed. Cruz has long been an advocate of the space station. Ars reached out to Cruz for a comment on Thursday, but the senator did not immediately respond.

However, a key source said Cruz was “furious” with the sentiment from Musk. The timing of Musk’s tweet could make the confirmation of private astronaut Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator more difficult. As part of the confirmation process, Isaacman is due to begin meetings with US senators in the coming week.

Having to answer questions about the end-of-life for the space station will make some of these meetings uncomfortable.

Whether ISS is deorbited in 2027 or in 2030 as planned, I just hope somebody finally brings Butch and Suni home first.