Raising ISS?

[PJay_A]

Once the shuttle retires and Orion is in operation, why not raise ISS to a higher altitude to minimize drag?

 

[Bytor_YYZ]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Once the shuttle retires and Orion is in operation, why not raise ISS to a higher altitude to minimize drag? <br /> Posted by PJay_A</DIV></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It will be raised a little after the last shuttle mission but the Soyuz has a limited capabilitiy too </p>

 

[PJay_A]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>&nbsp;It will be raised a little after the last shuttle mission but the Soyuz has a limited capabilitiy too <br /> Posted by Bytor_YYZ</DIV></p><p>Which raises another question.... When will the Russians retire the current Soyuz model for either a new vehicle or an updated one? </p>

 

[Zipi]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Which raises another question.... When will the Russians retire the current Soyuz model for either a new vehicle or an updated one? <br />Posted by PJay_A</DIV><br /><br />As far as I know there are no plans to retire the Soyuz booster or the capsule. Russians don't have anything that can replace it and if we are not counting any rumours they don't have even a development program on-going yet which could produce the replacement. </p><p>They have also upgraded/digitalized the avionics of the booster and developed glass cockpit to Soyuz so I'm not expecting to see the retirement of the Soyuz at the near future.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Carrickagh]

<p>I was under the impression that Europe's ATV has the capability to help boost the ISS. </p><p>***<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Zipi]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I was under the impression that Europe's ATV has the capability to help boost the ISS. *** <br />Posted by Carrickagh</DIV><br /><br />Yes it has the capatibility to boost the ISS. But still ATV is not Soyuz replacement because it cannot bring crew down to earth. There are some plans to develop an ATV based crew transport vehicle, but there are nothing official about it yet... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>