3 ms·
As far as I know the station is too close to earth and is thus slowed by the atmoshpere -> It will crash and burn on earth if no one keeps it on track.
by neikos 12y ago
As far as I know the station is too close to earth and is thus slowed by the atmoshpere -> It will crash and burn on earth if no one keeps it on track.
- ceejayoz 12y agoIt's something that most likely can be done remotely. Apparently they just screw around while it's going on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ggQdkTcLo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ggQdkTcLo
- jevinskie 12y agoI found it amusing that the sensation of the ISS accelerating seemed quite novel to astronauts to whom floating in space is banal.
- AYBABTME 12y agoI assume altitude could be maintained remotely for a while.
- viewer5 12y agoWhat do you mean? What stops that from happening now? Does it have thrusters that burn now and then to maintain its orbit?
- tomswartz07 12y agoYes- they only have to boost it up once every several months or so, however.
- CWuestefeld 12y agoDoes it have thrusters that burn now and then to maintain its orbit? AIUI, the Soyuzes (is that the right plural) that are attached as lifeboats/return craft, also are used to adjust ISS orbit. They've got engines, etc., so it's relatively easy to use them in this capacity.
- TkTech 12y agoYou are correct, but the station also has two main engines on Zvezda that are rarely used. It's easier and cheaper to keep these main engines ready for emergencies and let the docked craft perform altitude boosts. As to the parent comment, burns are required because the ISS is at a very low altitude. It is still technically within our atmosphere and experiences significant drag from it. In addition, as the stations rotation changes, it's corrected using gyroscopes on the station. Once these gyroscopes have stored their maximum momentum in the flywheels they need to be released, and thrusters are used at that point to cancel out the momentum. Something a lot of people don't seem to realize is that the station is moving all the time. Anything you do on the inside, such as exerting force on a wall or running on the treadmill (which had to be specially designed to minimize vibration transfer to the station) affects the station and must be cancelled out over time. The station moves as part of it's daily operation as well, such as when it enters [night glider mode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Glider_mode http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Glider_mode) to reduce atmospheric drag.
- CWuestefeld 12y agoAnything you do on the inside, such as exerting force on a wall ... affects the station and must be cancelled out over time. Won't this cancel itself out over time anyway? If the astronaut kicks off one wall (acquiring momentum by applying a force), won't he just float over to the opposite wall and negate that momentum by applying a complementary but opposite force?
- simonh 12y agoThat process takes years. Even if the station ws uninhabitable we would be able to dock a propulsion unit to it and increase it's altitude if we needed to keep it available.