International Space Station

[Lohan2008]

I was wondering if there any confirmed dates when ISS will be de-commissoned ? When will the different modules be taken apart ?

Would China be willing to keep pieces in orbit ??

Edited March 2, 2014 by Lohan2008

[DisarmingBaton5]

2028 last I heard, IIRC OPSEK will be using the Russian modules after that. China has its own station program with Tiangong.

[Lohan2008]

TiÄÂngÃ…Âng: literally "Heavenly Palace" will be around 2016 and is to be built in at least 3 stages. China has plans for massive amounts of launches over the next few years.

Was wondering if ISS will be still in its current form or will it be scaled back ??

[Pingonaut]

What will we be using as a space station after the ISS? Just curious.

[Kryten]

What will we be using as a space station after the ISS? Just curious.

If be 'we' you mean the US, nothing.

[Pingonaut]

If be 'we' you mean the US, nothing.

Because we're not accomplishing anything on the ISS anymore? I mean, having a space station seems pretty important if you want to continue a space program.

[Klingon Admiral]

Well, you assume that the people who decide the budget of NASA have any competence in spaceflight.

They don't.

[NASAFanboy]

If be 'we' you mean the US, nothing.

Actually, no.

NASA still has its Gateway Outpost program to send a spacestation to Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 as part of Obama and Congress's "Exploration Roadmap" as a nessessary precursor to any form of Mars mission, which is why there is speculation that it will be operation sometime by 2023 or 2025. The plans are not clear-cut, just that it will... Lockheed calls it the "Gateway Outpost", but Boeing prefers "Cislunar Gateway".

1. Either use a "Dry Workshop" stage of the SLS and be like Skylab, or it will be constructed out of a modular design similar to the ISS.

2. Be located at EML-2, on the lunar far side.

3. Use existing technologies and upgraded ECLSS-derived life support systems to host a crew of astronauts for stays of three months or more.

4. Perform research in human spaceflight far away from Earth.

Heres some concept art done by NASA and Boeing for the L2 outpost.

[Pingonaut]

Actually, no.

NASA still has its Gateway Outpost program to send a spacestation to Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 as part of Obama and Congress's "Exploration Roadmap" as a nessessary precursor to any form of Mars mission, which is why there is speculation that it will be operation sometime by 2023 or 2025. The plans are not clear-cut, just that it will... Lockheed calls it the "Gateway Outpost", but Boeing prefers "Cislunar Gateway".

1. Either use a "Dry Workshop" stage of the SLS and be like Skylab, or it will be constructed out of a modular design similar to the ISS.

2. Be located at EML-2, on the lunar far side.

3. Use existing technologies and upgraded ECLSS-derived life support systems to host a crew of astronauts for stays of three months or more.

4. Perform research in human spaceflight far away from Earth.

Heres some concept art done by NASA and Boeing for the L2 outpost.

http://i.imgur.com/lhL0M0r.png

That's really good to hear, especially after reading the previous posts.

[LordOfTheOrbits]

Actually, no.

NASA still has its Gateway Outpost program to send a spacestation to Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2 as part of Obama and Congress's "Exploration Roadmap" as a nessessary precursor to any form of Mars mission, which is why there is speculation that it will be operation sometime by 2023 or 2025. The plans are not clear-cut, just that it will... Lockheed calls it the "Gateway Outpost", but Boeing prefers "Cislunar Gateway".

1. Either use a "Dry Workshop" stage of the SLS and be like Skylab, or it will be constructed out of a modular design similar to the ISS.

2. Be located at EML-2, on the lunar far side.

3. Use existing technologies and upgraded ECLSS-derived life support systems to host a crew of astronauts for stays of three months or more.

4. Perform research in human spaceflight far away from Earth.

Heres some concept art done by NASA and Boeing for the L2 outpost.

http://i.imgur.com/lhL0M0r.png

Why are they building it at a so high orbit? It would be a lot cheaper to build a space station in LEO. The only reason that comes to my mind would be debris and orbital decay, but the ISS is dealing just fine with those.

[Pingonaut]

Why are they building it at a so high orbit? It would be a lot cheaper to build a space station in LEO. The only reason that comes to my mind would be debris and orbital decay, but the ISS is dealing just fine with those.

"Perform research in human spaceflight far away from Earth."

It's pretty self-explanatory. There are things you can test high up that you can't in a lower orbit.

[NASAFanboy]

Why are they building it at a so high orbit? It would be a lot cheaper to build a space station in LEO. The only reason that comes to my mind would be debris and orbital decay, but the ISS is dealing just fine with those.

NASA wants to test systems and do research away from the protective magnetic fields of Earth. It's not orbiting the Earth, its circling around a Lagrange Point, or its orbiting in lunar orbit.

Low Earth Orbit is getting old. It's time to spread out a little, yes?

[Nibb31]

Why are they building it at a so high orbit? It would be a lot cheaper to build a space station in LEO. The only reason that comes to my mind would be debris and orbital decay, but the ISS is dealing just fine with those.

Because its purpose is to act as a gateway. EML-1 and 2 are not "high orbits", they are Lagrange points. A Gateway Station at EML-2 is a good staging point for interplanetary or lunar missions. It's a great place to build a fuel depot or to park a reusable interplanetary exploration vehicle (the DSH).

We're done with LEO. Most of the groundbreaking technology for working in LEO has been developed. Let's leave it to the private sector to find commercial applications, if any are to be found. The goal these days is exploration, and LEO has been plenty explored.

[Red Iron Crown]

EML-2 is a great place for making observations that would otherwise suffer from interference from Earth, given that Earth is perpetually behind the Moon there. We'd need some sort of comm relay, perhaps at EML-4 or -5, to keep in contact with a station there.