> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.valar.space/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Delete a spacecraft

> Permanently delete an archived spacecraft — what it destroys, who can do it, and why it cannot be undone

> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](/llms.txt).

Deleting a spacecraft is **permanent and terminal. There is no undo.** The spacecraft's data is destroyed and cannot be recovered — not by you, and not by VALAR support. Archiving is the reversible action; deletion is not. Delete a spacecraft only when you are certain it should cease to exist — for example, to clean up a duplicate craft created by mistake.

**Route:** `/spacecraft` → **Danger Zone**

## Before you can delete: archive first

A spacecraft must be **archived** before Delete becomes available. On an active spacecraft the Delete action is shown but disabled, with a note that the craft must be archived first.

This is deliberate: it puts a reversible step (archiving, which you can undo with **Restore**) in front of an irreversible one. Archive the spacecraft from the [Danger Zone](/features/spacecraft-management#danger-zone) first; then return to delete it.

## Who can delete

Deletion requires an authority that is **granted separately** from the authority to edit a spacecraft — being able to change a craft's configuration does not let you delete it. If you do not see a Delete action in the Danger Zone of an archived spacecraft, you do not hold that authority.

Deletion is an **interactive, signed-in action only**. It is **not available to API keys or automated integrations** — a spacecraft can only be deleted by a person, from the app.

## The impact check: what you are consenting to

Before you confirm, the deletion dialog shows you **how many records of each kind of data will be destroyed** with the spacecraft — its measurements, orbit solutions, residuals, state vectors, maneuvers, and every other kind of record attached to it — with a total. **Those counts are exactly what you are consenting to destroy:** what the dialog lists is what dies with the craft.

If the spacecraft has no attached data — the ordinary case for a duplicate created by mistake — the dialog tells you so, and only the spacecraft record itself is removed. That is a normal outcome, not a warning.

## Confirming: type the spacecraft's ID

To confirm, you type the spacecraft's **ID** — not its name. The dialog shows you the ID to type.

The ID is used rather than the name because two spacecraft can share a **name** but never share an **ID**. Cleaning up a duplicate — two craft with the same name — is the exact case this feature exists for, and the name would confirm nothing. The Delete button stays disabled until what you type matches the spacecraft's ID exactly.

## What happens, and what survives

Deletion is **synchronous**: it happens the moment you confirm, not on a background queue. When it completes, the spacecraft is gone from every list and selector, and you are returned to the spacecraft overview.

The only thing that survives is an **internal audit record** VALAR keeps: who deleted the spacecraft, when, and how many records of each kind were destroyed. This is a record *that* the deletion happened — it is **not a copy of the data, and it cannot restore anything**.

## Where deletion works

Deletion behaves identically in **Operations** and in **Mission Analysis**. Deleting acts only on the spacecraft in the environment you are currently working in.