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Author
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Topic: Retiring the International Space Station
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Tykeanaut
Member Posts: 2212
From: Worcestershire, England, UK.
Registered: Apr 2008
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posted 03-10-2010 01:34 PM
   
How will the International Space Station be 'retired' when that time comes?I can't imagine it would be a repeat of Skylab! Would it be continually boosted into a higher orbit or just one high enough for it to float away? |
NavySpaceFan
Member Posts: 655
From: Norfolk, VA
Registered: May 2007
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posted 03-10-2010 02:09 PM
Just the opposite, it will be destroyed in a controlled re-entry, like Mir. |
teopze
Member Posts: 180
From: Warsaw, Poland
Registered: May 2008
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posted 03-10-2010 07:11 PM
I, personally, think it's not going to be that simple. There will be a lot of discussion before someone eventually decide to push it into the atmosphere. Too many parties are involved. ISS's life will be much longer than we think. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 03-10-2010 08:21 PM
quote:
Originally posted by teopze:
ISS's life will be much longer than we think.
I agree. Lets hope that the ISS is as difficult to kill as Mir! |
Mike Dixon
Member Posts: 1397
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003
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posted 03-10-2010 08:49 PM
Target the Australian outback again... we don't care.  Not like you're gonna hit anything. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 03-10-2010 09:09 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Mike Dixon:
Not like you're gonna hit anything.
Yes the odds are small, but remember that Gene Shoemaker met his end while driving in the open Australian landscape while studying meteorite impacts. Hopefully special interest groups will come forward and force us to keep the ISS in orbit forever. |
Mike Dixon
Member Posts: 1397
From: Kew, Victoria, Australia
Registered: May 2003
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posted 03-10-2010 10:33 PM
Yep... tragic event just out of Alice Springs (close enough to the centre of the continent) if I recall correctly.Agree wholeheartedly on the second point. |
Max Q
Member Posts: 399
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 03-11-2010 02:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Mike Dixon:
Not like you're gonna hit anything.
Yes it actually managed to miss me and I was in Eucla that nigh on my way to visit family in the West. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-11-2010 04:38 PM
quote:
Originally posted by MCroft04:
...force us to keep the ISS in orbit forever.
There will come a time eventually where keeping ISS in orbit will not be desirable given the breakdown of critical systems. Deorbiting the station will be the responsible course of action, less it be broken apart by uncontrolled debris collisions and then not only become a risk to those on the ground (through uncontrolled reentry of large parts) but to operating satellites and other vehicles in orbit. A basic plan, already agreed upon by the international partners, exists for how to deorbit the ISS, based in part on lessons learned from Mir's reentry. The needed fuel and propulsion would be provided by docked vehicles, such as ESA's ATV and Russia's Progress. As to when this might happen, it could be as long as two decades from now, as confirmed by the international partners this week. From a NASA press release: The heads of agency... noted that there are no identified technical constraints to continuing ISS operations beyond the current planning horizon of 2015 to at least 2020, and that the partnership is currently working to certify on-orbit elements through 2028.
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Max Q
Member Posts: 399
From: Whyalla South Australia
Registered: Mar 2007
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posted 03-11-2010 06:10 PM
Pardon my lack of understanding but given the modular design of the ISS why not just uncouple the malfunctioning section and deorbit that and plug a new section in. |
MCroft04
Member Posts: 1634
From: Smithfield, Me, USA
Registered: Mar 2005
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posted 03-11-2010 08:56 PM
Even better, disassemble it all and bring it home piece by piece. Yes I know impractical, but wouldn't it look sweet at the Smithsonian! |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42988
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-12-2010 09:21 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Max Q:
...why not just uncouple the malfunctioning section.
My comment was directed more to system-wide components, such as the ammonia coolant lines that run the length of the station rather than any specific module. |
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