• Space Station to be abandoned
    153 replies, posted
[QUOTE] "In the first quarter of 2016, we'll prep and de-orbit the spacecraft," says NASA's space station program manager, Michael T. Suffredini. That's a polite way of saying that NASA will make the space station fall back into the atmosphere, where it will turn into a fireball and then crash into the Pacific Ocean. It'll be a controlled reentry, to ensure that it doesn't take out a major city. But it'll be destroyed as surely as a Lego palace obliterated by the sweeping arm of a suddenly bored kid. This, at least, is NASA's plan, pending a change in policy. There's no long-term funding on the books for international space station operations beyond 2015. Suffredini raised some eyebrows when, at a public hearing last month, he declared flatly that the plan is to de-orbit the station in 2016. He addressed his comments to a panel chaired by former aerospace executive Norman Augustine that is charged by the Obama administration with reviewing the entire human spaceflight program. Everything is on the table -- missions, goals, rocket design. And right there in the mix is this big, fancy space laboratory circling the Earth from 220 miles up. The cost of the station is both a liability and, paradoxically, a virtue. A figure commonly associated with the ISS is that it will ultimately cost the United States and its international partners about $100 billion. That may add to the political pressure to keep the space laboratory intact and in orbit rather than seeing it plunging back to Earth so soon after completion. Source: [URL]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071201977.html?hpid=topnews[/URL][/QUOTE]WHAT THE HELL! They are just going to let it crash and burn into the atmosphere? After all the money spent and hard work? They spent $100 billion, and it was just completed 5 years ago [URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071201977.html?hpid=topnews"] [/URL]
What the fuck man? Well, it's good they're gonna send it into the Pacific Ocean. No Koreans to steal our secrets :ninja:
Excuse me? [i]The motherfucking ISS is going to be decommissioned?![/i]
I doubt it. They have put trillions of dollars into that thing.
Probably won't happen
This would be the dumbest way to possibly go with the space station in mind. So much money has been pumped into it that it'd be such a waste.
After a while the technology gets old and becomes a liability with increased risk of failure. They probably expect to put up a new one with much better and up-to-date technology. I do say it's a bit of a waste after putting all that money into it recently.
That station is worth more than some countries, there's no way they're going to abandon it
How sad. Perhaps technology is going too fast and they overestimated the capability it would provide.
Mir operated for only 15 years. The ISS has been there since 1998, over ten years. I guess it's fair enough that its time is running out.
What are you doing NASA.
why would they do that they already spent so much
Obviously, they give no real motives or anything as justification. I wish the ISS could stay up... :ohdear:
cool, i hope they videotape it
[b]what the flying fuck?[/b] They spent MY tax money on that horseshit thing and they're gonna blow it up? Fuck that, and fuck whoever still wants to put more tax money on the piece of shit called NASA that still clings to their earlier years.
brb starting fund to buy the iss
[QUOTE=Thor667;22674296]I doubt it. They have put trillions of dollars into that thing.[/QUOTE] or you could rtfa [quote]A figure commonly associated with the ISS is that it will ultimately cost the United States and its international partners about $100 billion.[/quote]
This is what happens, they build a space station, spend years researching on it (While expanding it to do the research) and then burn it up. The 2015 date and lack of funding after it was set when they started, or around that time anyway. Its a shame, NASA seems to lack (very) long term planning. "Hurr lets build a space station, then not realise it will need maintenance for many years to come" Anyway, how are they meant to get to and from it without the shuttle? Also I'm loving the surprise in this thread, have NONE of you heard of Mir?
[QUOTE=lolwutdude;22674508][b]what the flying fuck?[/b] They spent MY tax money on that horseshit thing and they're gonna blow it up? Fuck that, and fuck whoever still wants to put more tax money on the piece of shit called NASA that still clings to their earlier years.[/QUOTE] Guess how much of your tax dollars go into replacing military equipment purchased just years before? Really, what do you want them to do with the ISS? Leave it there abandoned?
[QUOTE=Nyaos;22674561] Really, what do you want them to do with the ISS? Leave it there abandoned?[/QUOTE] They could try and turn it into a TV studio like some Russian billionaire tried with Mir.
[QUOTE=Nyaos;22674561]Guess how much of your tax dollars go into replacing military equipment purchased just years before? Really, what do you want them to do with the ISS? Leave it there abandoned?[/QUOTE]Salvage it, if possible.
By the way, how old is this article? A 5 second read on Wikipedia suggests that its funding was extended till atleast 2020 in 2008 or 2009. It also says that the Russian designed modules have all been designed with the ability to detatch and either come back to earth to aid in the construction of a new space station. Edit July 13th 2009 :rolleyes:
[QUOTE=Nyaos;22674561]Guess how much of your tax dollars go into replacing military equipment purchased just years before? Really, what do you want them to do with the ISS? Leave it there abandoned?[/QUOTE] Bring it down somehow and put it in a museum because it's really fucking important?
It has to reach it's end at somepoint, though it is expected to remain in operation till 2015 and probably up till 2020. I doubt they end it in 2016.
[QUOTE=evilweazel;22674648]Bring it down somehow and put it in a museum because it's really fucking important?[/QUOTE] How exactly do you suggest getting something through the Earth's atmosphere which is not designed to, and most likely actually designed to break up as it passes through (To aid in the eventual de-orbit)
Just make a bigger space station and slap the ISS onto it.
[QUOTE=Nyaos;22674561]Guess how much of your tax dollars go into replacing military equipment purchased just years before? Really, what do you want them to do with the ISS? Leave it there abandoned?[/QUOTE] Regardless, NASA isn't making any amazing progress here.
[QUOTE=evilweazel;22674648]Bring it down somehow and put it in a museum because it's really fucking important?[/QUOTE] If there was a way to do this, I'd be all for it. But I cannot see any feasible way to do this. Salvaging it won't bring much money in since it's all decade old technology. They'd make more money selling parts at auction for antiques.
Both the US government and NASA have been making some piss poor decisions concerning space exploration lately. I wonder what the fuck is going on. Maybe some alien race that is kept classified by the government is threatening us if we keep putting shit into space.
They haven't even fully finished the stations and are already going to scrap it within the comming 6-7 years? Maybe not that strange though, seeing as MIR also was functional for only 15 year including build time before deorbiting it.
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