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>Seems like a waste to throw away the ISS. Aerospace vehicles and structures have a limited shelf life. Patching ageing stuff up in space is expensive. So bui
by FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>Seems like a waste to throw away the ISS.
Aerospace vehicles and structures have a limited shelf life. Patching ageing stuff up in space is expensive. So building a new one from scratch might be cheaper long run.
- genocidicbunny 3y agoWith that said, I wonder if there's any value in taking some chunks of the existing modules and bringing them back down the well to examine what several decades in a space environment did to them. There's gotta be something valuable to learn from seeing how materials exposed to a high-rad environment with frequent temperature cycling behave after several decades.
- justsomehnguy 3y ago> something valuable Something? Yes. Valuable enough to bring even one down? Doubtful. Anyway, the last vehicle which could do this was decommed in 2011.
- genocidicbunny 3y agoDon't they have resupply missions to the ISS? I'm talking about cutting out chunks of the modules, stuffing them in the returning capsule and letting that go back down to earth. Not whole modules.