SpaceX has dreamed up a Dragon ship on steroids to drag the ISS out of space

[Admin]

SpaceX's Dragon series now has a new entrant: a larger, tougher variant that will send the ISS to its doom sometime in the 2030s.

SpaceX has dreamed up a Dragon ship on steroids to drag the ISS out of space : Read more

 

[Dr.Mt]

Hej,

I was greatly saddened to hear NASA will be burning thevISS in atmospheric reentry to have remnants in South Pacific Ocean.
There are 5, perhaps 6 years before it is planned to be decommissioned.
May I suggest the primary schools across the USA, the World... do fund raisers and hold a selection raffle for each school or each county to choose an item that will be sent to ISS as crews depart... making ISS a Time Capsule ISS of Earth in 2020s.
The one or two large probably Spacex, docked, used to push, push, push at each apogee and perigee until ISS has escape trajectory out of Earth Orbit, not to Earth, but aimed at the outer solar system.
It has no time mandates to reach outer solar system. It could be on a go slow and will take 100s of years.

One day in the long distant future, if humans exist, our progeny can find and explore life in what they will refer to as their caveman stone age.

If no humans, in millions of years, the next life form from Earth, or elsewhere, can stumble upon it and have their greatest archaeological discovery.

Let us not Waste this opportunity to have something of our time, set in aspic, adrift in outer Sol solar system.

This endeavour would ignite an entire generation Globally to be scientists! They took part in the farewell to our very first long term outer Sol solar system time capsule.

Please do not do the yank thing of trash, bin, rubbish, destroy it when it is no longer going to be used.
Give ISS a worthy Purpose of Inspiration to a global generation of school children as a Time Capsule of Humans of Earth 2020s.

Thanking you
Michael Jeffrey Turberville
Reading, UK, EU, Earth, Sol, Orion Arm, Milkyway...

 

[Classical Motion]

If you’re going to do that, do it right. Trim it down and strengthen it. Remove panels. Install nuc for lots of heat and juice. Add plenty of large and small thruster capabilities. High power radio and radar. A full set of space instruments. And a gravity assist from Jupiter.

Voyager 3.

 

[Unclear Engineer]

The trouble with people who have "good ideas" like this is that they want other people to implement them.

If you think about it, would you be willing to take the government payment of $843 million and commit to doing what you propose? If not, then don't expect somebody else to do it for you.

 

[Classical Motion]

With the way things are going, maybe a space junk/refurbish company is needed. We got plenty of junk for overhead work. And now we got emergency tows, and recommissioned probes and crafts. And from what I see today, we’re gonna need refueling stations. Avoidance maneuvering is burning up all the fuel.

We need a space service station. Even a bus terminal.

That avoidance usage is going to be a real problem. And change a lot of ratios.

The only solution seems to be disposable sats. A huge disappointment for culture warriors.

My question is where does all the exhaust go? What does it do to our space environment and our atmosphere?

 

[IWG]

Why not tow it to a Lagrange Point we might need it later...???

 

[Classical Motion]

It's like UE said. We can flap about it all day, but it's the money. Off world activity is expensive.

 

[Classical Motion]

Think of it this way. Have you ever owned a salt water boat? How long did you have it? Ha ha.

Figure on 1000 times that for a space boat.

 

[billslugg]

Why not tow it to a Lagrange Point we might need it later...???

It takes too much fuel. The delta V to get a 250 km orbit is 9,256 m/s. The delta V in the deorbit contract is 57 m/s. To escape from LEO and get to the Lagrange points would require a delta V of 3,212 m/s.

They will spend $830M to get 57 m/s. Towing it to a Lagrange point would require 56 times that, or $47B. As soon as you raise it, let us know.

 

[mvoziowa]

3 x 16 is 48 not 46. Or has 'triple' gained a new meaning of late? Maybe it's poetic license but we're talking science and technology.

 

[BrianR]

Could we get Elon to pilot the dragon on its descent?