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Rather than being dumped in the Pacific, could the ISS be fitted with a propulsion system and sent (eg) to Mars?

The ISS consists of a large assembly of habitation, life support, observational, communication and experimental systems, as well as solar arrays capable of producing over 120kW of power. By adding a low-thrust propulsion system, could the station be adapted for orbital exploration of other planets, rather than simply being dumped in the Pacific at the end of its operational life, or would critical systems have deteriorated by that time?

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  • Asked by OldVic
  • on 2009-09-06 20:24:43
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Categories: Technology.

Tags: Space.

 

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mavster says:

the radiation sheilding on the iss is poor at best plus its would fall apart better slam it into the moon so we can watch it from earth much more fun

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posted on 2009-09-13 18:37:50 | Report abuse


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s.solajic says:

The answer is simply: NO. ISS although quite large with enough habitable space and sophisticated system could not be accelerated to the speeds sufficient to leave Earth's orbit. Simply said, it would fall apart in pieces. The design and construction will face different forces during the acceleration which ISS construction could not tolerate, even with - low trust propulsion system. In the other hand every spacecraft that we send to the orbit of another body in our Solar system has to decelerate enough to enter the stable orbit. The problem with excessive forces on various parts of the ISS remains the same.

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posted on 2009-11-09 18:33:40 | Report abuse


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mavster says:

afraidnotthestress of leaving the earths orbit would tear it apart remember built by the lowest bidder which means its made from tinfoil

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posted on 2010-04-12 12:27:27 | Report abuse


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