Bye Bye Space Ship
By mynameiskate
@mynameiskate (2562)
March 14, 2019 10:31am CST
The ISS internal space station is coming down burning up in the atmosphere and the larger parts which don’t completely burn up will crash to a watery grave into the pacific ocean.
What can stop it from happening?
The ISS is a research laboratory the size of a football field and used for scientific experiments. It is circling our planet in a low level orbit. Over time it does slow down enough to make it necessary to fire up an engine every so often so as to maintain orbit. When NASA changes its mission to focus completely on Moon and Mars deployment it will be over for the ISS.
Will it be possible to save the station from certain destruction?
Without the supply rocket launches up to the station and of course interest to keep it there that part of the space program will be terminated. Part of the expense of maintaining the lab platform involves keeping the astronauts alive.
What if the residents were only robots?
Is it possible to reduce the money needed to maintain the systems on board? Also can a use for the station be found whereby new funding might be obtained from new partners interested in using the station for some worthwhile purpose?
NASA's ability to send astronauts to Mars in the mid-2030s depends in part on cutting back or ending government funding for the International Space Station after 2024, the head of a congressional subcommittee that oversees NASA said Wednesday.
4 people like this
3 responses
@mynameiskate (2562)
•
14 Mar 19
I asked a question directed to a person that works at NASA. I think they will know at where it will be coming down. He mentioned there is an actual spot on the pacific bottom where space junk has crashed before on purpose of course. They won't be aiming for your head thank goodness.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Mar 19
Maybe we can sell it to a nation with a developing space program, such as China or India. That will help them avoid huge start-up costs for developing their own space stations.
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@moffittjc (118442)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Mar 19
@mynameiskate The Russians are already launching private citizens into space, they should buy the space station and use it as a tourist attraction to take private citizens there. Now wouldn't that be really cool if you could say you went to outer space!
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@mynameiskate (2562)
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17 Mar 19
@moffittjc I'm not sure if they are ready for that. Everyone that goes there says they have a lot of training just in case something goes very wrong. It could be like going diving in a tropical paradise. Which would you prefer? Tropical paradise = grass skirts. Space = space suit.
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@mynameiskate (2562)
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16 Mar 19
Now that's a possible outcome. It is an international space station from the start. I think they made it tentative because they need all the budget to go to the new venture, Mars. It is going to take a lot of effort and money to go there. I also read that the Soviets might pull their stuff off and keep it going. I think that attached article says how much it cost to maintain orbit as it is now. Interesting idea for it!
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@xander6464 (40880)
• Wapello, Iowa
15 Mar 19
When you consider how much we spend on other things, the cost of maintaining the ISS is very small. I hope we maintain it.
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@mynameiskate (2562)
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17 Mar 19
Indeed, NASA does operate on a limited budget as does other space agencies. Some spending falls under the umbrella of research and so I believe that the space station conducts a lot of science experiments. Well so far it looks like the whole program like the shuttle will get dumped.
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