this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2026
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[–] PennyRoyal@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

A spaceshed I’d think, which sounds pretty expensive

[–] mynamewastakenagain@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 month ago

What color is the ~~bike~~space shed going to be? I vote blue.

[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Collapse the solar and radiators, orient for reduced drag, maybe shield the front? Then boost to a higher orbit. Aim for… 20 years?

[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

But why? If the upkeep is getting overwhelming and no commercial operators want the parts, that's just creating a ticking time bomb out of sentimentality. I'd rather clean up space by bringing it down.

[–] CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Humans are sentimental. You can park it in an empty orbit, i don’t think that’d be an issue. It’ll just be more expensive.

[–] burble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

They have already done this study, though.

https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iss-deorbit-analysis-summary.pdf?emrc=667c97a20241b

Raising to even a 100 year safe orbit needs 20,000kg of propellant and a new vehicle that doesn't exist. I suppose that's solvable with enough budget. It would also need attitude control while raising the orbit for debris avoidance. And a crew. Getting crew to dock at 650km is prohibitive for a mix of reasons. And, even if you solve those issues, the station becomes a dead bomb in the parking orbit that could create a massive debris cloud if struck.