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Author
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Topic: Lifespan for the International Space Station
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GACspaceguy
Member Posts: 2691
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006
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posted 11-08-2007 12:24 PM
   
Once the International Space Station is completed, what is the planned life expectancy? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46004
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-08-2007 05:31 PM
The ISS was designed to be used on-orbit until 2016. By then, the components that were first launched, such as Zvezda, Zarya and Unity, will be reaching their end of life. Keep in mind that the ISS was meant to be completed by next year were it not for component delivery delays and the loss of Columbia. |
music_space
Member Posts: 1185
From: Canada
Registered: Jul 2001
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posted 11-09-2007 07:50 AM
How come there's not a components replacement schedule, like the ones which keep commercial airplanes operating for decades? |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46004
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-09-2007 08:39 PM
Replacing aircraft parts on the ground and swapping out modules in space are orders of magnitude apart when it comes to complexity. You need only watch the activities that began today and will continue over the next couple of weeks to prepare, configure and then move the Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 and Harmony Node 2 to support the arrival of the Columbus and Kibo labs. We're getting closer to modular modules but we're not quite there yet. |
SkyMan1958
Member Posts: 1019
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011
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posted 04-13-2021 05:06 PM
Does anyone know how long the ISS was originally scheduled to remain active? Also, was that as a whole, or just from the original docking of Unity and Zarya? Given that Nauka was originally scheduled to be launched in 2007, and given that its "warranty" is about to go belly up, I'm guessing the original lifespan of the ISS was 15 to 20 years.I was noticing that as of now the Lunar Gateway is scheduled to last 15 years. At the currently scheduled build rate it will take several years to build it, so it's interesting to know if that 15 years is from the first module construction, or from the completion (barring another Columbia type disaster) of the Gateway. Editor's note: Threads merged. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 46004
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-13-2021 05:31 PM
According to a 2018 report to Congress: From a structural integrity analysis standpoint, the ISS platform is expected to have significant structural life well beyond 2028 (based on the current assessment period). Many of the ISS modules, particularly the modules launched in the later years of ISS assembly, are likely to have structural life well into the 2030s. Projected lifespans and the results of engineering assessments conducted after the hardware is on orbit generally differ, with the latter often extending longer than the earlier conservative forecasts. |
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