Congress is questioning whether it's feasible to 'store' the International Space Station (ISS) in a safe orbital harbor after its operational life is over. The proposal, submitted by Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.), aims to direct NASA to reassess its plans for the ISS after 2030.
Whitesides believes that storing the station could provide valuable scientific insights and potentially open up new opportunities for future generations. This proposition comes as part of a larger bill aimed at reauthorizing NASA's budget and outlining policy guidelines for the agency.
NASA has currently planned to deorbit the space station in 2031 over the Pacific Ocean, after which debris that survives the scorching reentry will fall into a remote part of the sea. The agency considers this method safer than any other alternative due to concerns over the risk of fatalities and property damage from debris reaching land.
However, according to NASA analysis released last year, deorbiting the ISS could result in massive propellant consumption — around 10 tons (9 metric tons) for a decrease of just 127 mph. An alternative approach involves boosting the station's orbit to somewhere between 400 and 420 miles (640 to 680 kilometers), but this too has its challenges.
The development of new, high-altitude vehicles capable of delivering significant cargo to these orbits is currently under development, yet significant engineering hurdles remain. There is also a risk that the space station could collide with other debris in space at around 500 miles above Earth's surface.
Some lawmakers, including Rep. George Whitesides and his cosponsor Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska), are urging caution on deorbiting the ISS without first conducting further study on this option. They believe it is essential to understand the technical feasibility of preserving the complex in orbit for future generations before making a decision.
In contrast, SpaceX has been awarded nearly $1 billion to develop an enhanced version of its Dragon spacecraft to deorbit the station and re-enter Earth's atmosphere safely.
Whitesides believes that storing the station could provide valuable scientific insights and potentially open up new opportunities for future generations. This proposition comes as part of a larger bill aimed at reauthorizing NASA's budget and outlining policy guidelines for the agency.
NASA has currently planned to deorbit the space station in 2031 over the Pacific Ocean, after which debris that survives the scorching reentry will fall into a remote part of the sea. The agency considers this method safer than any other alternative due to concerns over the risk of fatalities and property damage from debris reaching land.
However, according to NASA analysis released last year, deorbiting the ISS could result in massive propellant consumption — around 10 tons (9 metric tons) for a decrease of just 127 mph. An alternative approach involves boosting the station's orbit to somewhere between 400 and 420 miles (640 to 680 kilometers), but this too has its challenges.
The development of new, high-altitude vehicles capable of delivering significant cargo to these orbits is currently under development, yet significant engineering hurdles remain. There is also a risk that the space station could collide with other debris in space at around 500 miles above Earth's surface.
Some lawmakers, including Rep. George Whitesides and his cosponsor Rep. Nick Begich (R-Alaska), are urging caution on deorbiting the ISS without first conducting further study on this option. They believe it is essential to understand the technical feasibility of preserving the complex in orbit for future generations before making a decision.
In contrast, SpaceX has been awarded nearly $1 billion to develop an enhanced version of its Dragon spacecraft to deorbit the station and re-enter Earth's atmosphere safely.
! I mean, can you imagine having it as a museum in orbit? It'd be like having a floating time capsule for future generations to study and learn from. Plus, think of the scientific discoveries we could make by keeping it up there - it's not just about the tech, it's about preserving our history in space 
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. Let's give them the funding they need to make it work and who knows, maybe one day we'll have a space station museum up there for everyone to enjoy 
! I mean, can you imagine having a giant metal lab floating around us for years? It's like something out of science fiction 
. And rep. George Whitesides is all about it, saying it could give us valuable scientific insights and opportunities for future genz 
. It's like, if you're gonna launch a rocket, make sure you know where it's gonna land, right? 
. I think we need more research and development on this new tech for high-altitude vehicles 
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but yeah, let's not forget about the practicalities... NASA has to make sure they're not putting people or property at risk during the deorbiting process 
It's also kind of sad that the ISS is already being planned to deorbit in 2031, like its life is limited. What if we can make it last longer than that? 
And let's not forget, SpaceX is basically getting a free pass to develop their own tech for deorbiting the ISS... sounds like a conflict of interest to me 
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. There are just too many unknowns here to get too excited about 
but it's definitely not impossible. and with private companies like spacex coming into play 
Storing the ISS in space is like, whoa! Can you imagine the awesomeness of having a giant lab up there for scientists to experiment with? It's like, the ultimate space station! And think of all the new discoveries that could be made by studying it in orbit... it's like, out of this world! 
. But, I'm also concerned about the engineering hurdles that come with boosting its orbit or developing new cargo vehicles 
. We need to be realistic about what's feasible and what's not 
. It's great that lawmakers like Whitesides are pushing for caution and further study 
especially if we're talking about preventing any debris from falling on land or something. And 10 tons of propellant for a small speed decrease is wild! 
I don't know how that's gonna work in practice, though... and what about all the other space junk out there? That's like, a whole different problem 