Was sollte vor dem Absturz der Internationalen Raumstation gerettet werden? | Was hochgegangen ist, kann nicht alles herunterkommen (zur Museumsausstellung).
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/before-it-comes-down-what-should-be-saved-from-the-international-space-station/
22 Kommentare
Humans do not just visit space; they live there, but a major part of that is coming to an end. The platform that made the longest continuous human presence in space possible is becoming history.
With NASA and its partners beginning preparations for the destructive end of the International Space Station (ISS) as soon as 2030, those who collect, curate, and study the station are now asking how to preserve the historic and culturally significant artifact, given that it is far too large and complex to keep intact.
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on Thursday hosted a three-part panel discussion, bringing together space program officials, museum curators, an archeologist, and an astronaut to begin answering the why, what, and how the ISS might be saved. The sessions were part of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ (AIAA) ASCEND conference in Washington, DC.
“I had a friend who works on the Artemis [moon] program come up to me when we had 25 years [of continuous human residency]. ‘Congratulations, guys! You made space boring.’ And we did—and that’s a good thing, actually,” said Jacob Keaton, acting director of the International Space Station for NASA’s Space Operations Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in DC. “Not only did we make it boring because of the technical competence that the team brings to the table, we made it boring because it became part of our national fabric, almost.
“This is just something that we do. We have people in space,” said Keaton. “The ticket tape parades after Apollo were wonderful. That’s a historic achievement—for Artemis, too, absolutely. But for the space station, this is just who we are now. I think it’s underappreciated the amount of work that it took to become boring.”
Shame they can’t just move it into a lunar orbit instead of destroying it.
I do wish they’d find a way to strap a few ion thrusters to it and boost it into a high enough orbit to become a museum piece.
How about find a better explanation for sinking it that doesn’t stink of political bullshit and tiny egos made by idiots who don’t grasp that time passes?
All the space suits, cameras and hopefully racks used to grow food!
The communal coconut…. let’s be honest, we all know there is one.
Whatever is left of the bottle of sriracha sauce…..
The cupola at the very least and maybe a truss segment would be pretty cool to preserve. Though idk if even a hypothetical operational starship could bring either of those back
Can we send a bunch of billionaires up there beforehand?
They may already have them, but they should take detailed pictures of the station. Interior and exterior.
Museums could then build accurate recreations of the station (or sections of it) for people to wander through and look at.
They should bottle the air, the internal atmosphere even. I’ve read it’s.. unique
The guitar should come back to earth. It is likely the „most travelled“ guitar in history.
Gorilla suit!!! That was the greatest prank ever!
What about starting to build a replacement, and salvage modules like the solar arrays
People keep asking me why it can’t/shouldn’t be extended… aside from the lack of a system that could replace/renovate the space station, just imagine what it’s like inside. Like 5-6 RVs that have not been deep cleaned for 30 years. Nobody’s opened a window. No candles. Aspects of spaceflight are glamorous, but I can imagine that an extended stay on the ISS is like hiking the John Muir/Appalachian Trails while breathing through a full and ripe garbage bag- physically demanding, austere of creature comforts, but nevertheless beautiful in a way that only those who’ve done it can understand. It might make sense in some respects to try and extend the ISS mission, but in my opinion it makes more sense to start fresh with an architecture that has benefitted from the decades of experience gained by building and operating the ISS.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|——-|———|—|
|[HEO](/r/Space/comments/1tkyl9e/stub/onc51pl „Last usage“)|High Earth Orbit (above 35780km)|
| |Highly Elliptical Orbit|
| |Human Exploration and Operations (see HEOMD)|
|HEOMD|Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA|
|[Isp](/r/Space/comments/1tkyl9e/stub/oncelhy „Last usage“)|Specific impulse (as explained by [Scott Manley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnisTeYLLgs) on YouTube)|
| |Internet Service Provider|
|[KSP](/r/Space/comments/1tkyl9e/stub/oncleek „Last usage“)|*Kerbal Space Program*, the rocketry simulator|
|[LEO](/r/Space/comments/1tkyl9e/stub/oncelhy „Last usage“)|Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km)|
| |Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations)|
|[MEO](/r/Space/comments/1tkyl9e/stub/onc51pl „Last usage“)|Medium Earth Orbit (2000-35780km)|
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Bolt the Canadarm 2 to a science package and send it to Phobos to run around like the Thing from the Addams Family.
The Combined Operational Load-Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) of course!
The Extraterrestrial microbes
the cupola would be a nice piece to bring back safely. maybe the Canadarm 2 as well. but i’d also like someone on the last crew to go through with a good camera and just tour the station
rip Canada arm, its a shame it will all burn. There a eta on reentry ?
Oh it’s all coming back down for sure, just a bit faster than the parts they decide to save.