> Is the amount of delta-v needed to changes orbit and inclination really so high that it's easier and cheaper to send stuff from Earth rather than make use of

> Is the amount of delta-v needed to changes orbit and inclination really so high that it's easier and cheaper to send stuff from Earth rather than make use of what's there? Yes. The ISS has a less the optimal orbital inclination (51.6 degrees) purely due to Russian involvement. To meaningfully change that would take a lot of delta v. From Texas, Florida, or French Guiana, the US and EU would really have benefited from a more flat inclination. It also orbits at 400 km. In the grand scheme of things, that's pretty low. The amount of delta v to change this is much less (but significant because the total mass of the iss is 400,000kg), but who wants to do this for a 30 year old space station that you're also going to to pay to maintain? You'd also have to have something you'd want to do with the the thing, which nobody really has show that they have. It also apparently smells lol. It will end up in the middle of the Pacific.