Pliny Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 It's getting pretty big. My link Quote I want to be in the class that ensures the classless society remains classless.
Bonam Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 Neat animation. Yeah, it's huge for an orbital structure. Really cool to looking into the engineering of it. Quote
DogOnPorch Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 Good one. You can build the ISS chunk by chunk using this l'il sim. http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/home.php Quote Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris.
Topaz Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 Question, what the time limit on this before, it starts coming back to earth and lets hope it hit the oceans. Quote
Pliny Posted November 18, 2010 Author Report Posted November 18, 2010 Question, what the time limit on this before, it starts coming back to earth and lets hope it hit the oceans. OMG! I never thought of that. The sky will be falling for sure! You should be a scientist since you think of all these probabilities that no one has ever dreamed of before. Better get NASA onto that one immediatement. Frankly though, as long as we are around I think we can keep it boosted up. If it falls it will probably be because we are no longer around and consequently that occurrence will be of no concern. But, maybe just maybe, there will be an economic collapse and we won't be able to afford to keep it up there. Heavens to Betsy! Instead of Barrack twiddling his thumbs on healthcare maybe we should get him handling the economy first. Get Obama on to handling the economy? Oops! Did I say that? Maybe it would be better if he didn't. Quote I want to be in the class that ensures the classless society remains classless.
DogOnPorch Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 Question, what the time limit on this before, it starts coming back to earth and lets hope it hit the oceans. They can keep it up there indefinitely as long as they keep sending missions....otherwise it decays about 2km each month. Quote Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris.
Bonam Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 Question, what the time limit on this before, it starts coming back to earth and lets hope it hit the oceans. The current plan (from the US perspective) is to keep the station up until 2020. The Russians want to keep it up for longer, but they can't do it themselves unless the US agrees to continue as well. Personally I suspect the lifetime will be extended, after all the money and effort that's gone into it. After it's end of life, whether in 2020 or later, the station will be de-orbited. That is, its trajectory will be changed so that it impacts the atmosphere and is completely burnt up by it. This is the same way most satellites are de-orbited at end of life, as well as components like space shuttle fuel tanks. This has also been done to several prior space stations. The modules of the ISS are designed with deorbiting in mind and will burn up before ever hitting the Earth's surface. Quote
GostHacked Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 The current plan (from the US perspective) is to keep the station up until 2020. The Russians want to keep it up for longer, but they can't do it themselves unless the US agrees to continue as well. Personally I suspect the lifetime will be extended, after all the money and effort that's gone into it. After it's end of life, whether in 2020 or later, the station will be de-orbited. That is, its trajectory will be changed so that it impacts the atmosphere and is completely burnt up by it. This is the same way most satellites are de-orbited at end of life, as well as components like space shuttle fuel tanks. This has also been done to several prior space stations. The modules of the ISS are designed with deorbiting in mind and will burn up before ever hitting the Earth's surface. That would be a huge waste, a lot of time money, RnD by many countries were involved in this. Even after 20 years it should still meet our need and the ability to expand on it should be considered. Quote
Bonam Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 That would be a huge waste, a lot of time money, RnD by many countries were involved in this. Even after 20 years it should still meet our need and the ability to expand on it should be considered. I agree, I'm all for extending the lifetime of the space station. Unfortunately, the fate of the space program has been hugely politicized in the US and another funding extension for the space station is very uncertain. Quote
DogOnPorch Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 (edited) I agree, I'm all for extending the lifetime of the space station. Unfortunately, the fate of the space program has been hugely politicized in the US and another funding extension for the space station is very uncertain. Many years in space do take their toll on every single nut and bolt as I'm sure you're aware. Bake...freeze...bake...freeze...plus ultraviolet (and other) radiation...micrometeors and other assorted space junk hitting it. It all adds up. Edited November 18, 2010 by DogOnPorch Quote Nothing cracks a turtle like Leon Uris.
eyeball Posted November 18, 2010 Report Posted November 18, 2010 I agree, I'm all for extending the lifetime of the space station. Unfortunately, the fate of the space program has been hugely politicized in the US and another funding extension for the space station is very uncertain. No kidding, deorbiting it would be like tearing down a heritage building. Oh the humanity. Quote A government without public oversight is like a nuclear plant without lead shielding.
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