The International Space Station Days are Numbered
August 11th 2011 07:39
Category: Equipment
The International Space Station NASA image
It is said that “all good things must come to an end”
Like Skylab and MIR the International Space Station will shortly be obsolete and is destined for the Pacific ocean.
The Russian Mir space station entered Earth’s atmosphere in 2001 and fragmented, most of the larger fragments landed in the Pacific Ocean.
Skylab was slowed down by the Earth’s upper atmosphere and literally fell out of the sky in 1979 after six years service, with parts scattered over Western Australia.
The International Space Station is the biggest orbiting outpost ever built and is expected to be de commissioned around 2015.
Although NASA planned to extended ISS mission for another 6 years. Having such a huge “manned” investment the cost has seen little in return over the last few years as far as research projects are concerned. We already have enough data on human physiology and the effects that space has on humans over a long term space mission.
In reality having a space station has become less necessary. With the U.S. government ending the Space shuttle launch vehicles most of the freight service is undertaken by Russian space craft.
The International Space Station (ISS) is an impressive structure housing six residents it weighs more than 370,000 kilograms. The size of a football field ISS is a very bright object that can be see easily with the naked eye, when seen from Earth.
The International Space Station days are numbered for a number of reasons partly because of the cost issues in keeping the ISS operational and the fact that the space station will decay over time.
And in the event that the space station becomes compromised by fire or micro meteor impact the structure needs to be destroyed by entering it into Earth’s atmosphere in fear of becoming a big piece of space junk.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by Kleonaptra
Kalikapsychosis
Comment by CMoreStars
Astroearth
Camera Sense
Hi All,
Its amazing at just how much garbage is up there in space.
We get bombarded on a daily basis with meteorites and fragments bits of rock.
Humans should have been to Mars by now, it seems that the time line for getting to Mars is getting longer as the years pass.
You can place robots on the surface of Mars but it is not the same as having as having a real pair of eyes and hands doing the exploring.
As far as “cities” coming down I then we need to worry about the possibility of having a substantial piece of space real estate hit us.