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How long will it be before this new space propulsion capability can be scaled in order to put the ISS on the moon instead of in the ocean?

• jfengel 2y ago
  Long after it already is. The ISS is aging, and there was every intention of retiring it even before its principal sponsors started a proxy war. There's certainly zero chance that it could be on the moon. It wasn't designed to survive on a surface. It would not be able to support itself. If we want something in orbit around the moon, it will still be far cheaper to build a new thing designed for that purpose.
  • BobaFloutist 2y ago
    It does seem a shame that it can't be recovered and donated to museums or preserved in some way. I assume that it would be prohibitively expensive/complicated to try to do so, but it's a huge part of the history of space research, and it's a bit of a bummer to just throw it away.
    • rpmisms 2y ago
      I mean, if Starship works well, it could theoretically retrieve the ISS in a piecemeal fashion.
      • westurner 2y ago
        Orbital refuelling of non-satellite spacecraft at greater than IDK a few km has not been demonstrated. Rendezvouzing and pushing or pulling a 900K lb (350K kg) object in orbit has never been demonstrated. In-orbit outer hull repair on a vessel with occupants has also never been demonstrated? Are there NEO avoidance plans that do not involve fracturing the object into orbital debris on approach?