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from the do-we-call-residents-moonies-or-loonies? dept.
According to Popular Mechanics, the Russians might finally reach the Moon... aboard an American-made Orion spacecraft en route to an internationally built and operated orbital lunar outpost:
During the past couple of years, American, Russian, European, Japanese, and Canadian officials quietly discussed a possible joint human space flight program after the retirement of the ISS. Although these five space agencies might not be on the same page as far as whether to go to the moon first or head straight to Mars, they're getting closer to an agreement that a human outpost in lunar orbit would be the necessary first step either way.
During the latest round of negotiations in Houston last month, the ISS partners narrowed down the list of potential modules that would comprise their periodically visited habitat. According to the provisional plan, four key pieces made the cut for the first phase of the assembly, which is penciled in to take place from 2023 to 2028 in lunar orbit: The spartan outpost will include the U.S.-European space tug, a Canadian robot arm, a pair of habitation modules from Europe and Japan, and an airlock module from Russia. This hardware would hitchhike on NASA's giant SLS rocket, along with the Orion crew vehicle at the top of each booster.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday November 09 2016, @09:09PM
storage/automated assembly room in lunar orbit
Assembly room?
There really isn't anything you need in space that can be assembled in the ISS.
The ISS wouldn't even make a good hotel for assembly workers sent to bolt together a mars rocket.
If you want to get some residual value out of it, why not try to land it (piecemeal) on the moon. Because that's something we just assume can be
done on Mars (as long as you don't send the ESA to do it), but nobody has demonstrated with anything bigger than a Volkswaggen.
Like the Shuttle, there is no longer any useful or necessary science being conducted on the ISS, its a huge waste of resources.
Its time to de-orbit it before it starts killing people.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 09 2016, @09:14PM
Make up your mind! De-orbit or land on the moon?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Thursday November 10 2016, @12:33AM
Make up your mind! De-orbit or land on the moon?
Land on the moon allows re-use, but requires new technology.
Deorbit sends it to the scarp heap at the bottom of the ocean but costs nothing.
Making that decision is above my pay grade. The point is to get out of that thing, before some poor crew has to bail out in panic in a Soyuz and the whole thing comes crashing down in some unplanned way.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.