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Questions tagged [iss]

Questions about the ISS (International Space Station), a habitable man-made low Earth orbit satellite whose first component was launched in 1998 and used to conduct experiments for a wide variety of research fields in a microgravity environment.

4 votes
3 answers
868 views

Why is Nasa retiring ISS

Is there no need to do experiments in space or have that thing where people can go into space. If they spend so much time building it why just trash it for essentially nothing?
Lightsout's user avatar
  • 375
31 votes
3 answers
7k views

What would happen to the ISS if the Russians undocked their part?

So... RIA Novosti (Russian media agency) made a video, where they show the Russians ostensibly undocking the Zarya module and the US part of the station falls into the atmosphere (someone was playing ...
Machavity's user avatar
  • 7,935
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

What is the purpose of these three taut cables near an ISS astronaut during EVA? To what do they connect and why do two appear intertwined?

During CBS News senior space analyst Bill Harwood's explanations in the video Russia's space agency severs ties with the U.S. and its European partners they keep showing the same five seconds of an ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
7 votes
1 answer
301 views

Could SpaceX deliver the Interim Control Module to the ISS?

Three days ago Roscosmos chief, Dmitry Rogozin, bemoaned the sanctions on Twitter saying they could break the ISS cooperation, asking Joe Biden how he'd manage to manage the course corrections given ...
Matteo Ferla's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
404 views

How does the Russian invasion of Ukraine affect ISS operations? [closed]

I realise this question may be shut down as opinion-based, but here goes anyway. With diplomatic relations in the toilet following Russian military activity in Ukraine, how will this affect future ...
GordonD's user avatar
  • 1,153
1 vote
1 answer
143 views

Do you need to operate laptop computers to run the ISS SSRMS robots Canadarm2 & Dextre? What if there's a pressure loss and you're wearing a suit?

Comments and to some extent the current answer to If an ISS emergency requires pressure suits temporarily, can they still use the laptops? Move the cursor? address a highly unlikely scenario where a ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
1 vote
2 answers
198 views

Why procure a separate de-orbit vehicle for the ISS? Why can't the ISS flip over and de-orbit itself?

From NASA Solidifies Planning to Deorbit ISS in 2031: ISS average altitude estimates targeting re-entry early 2021 Figure 4. shows the ISS end-of-life de-orbit altitude, cargo resupply, and de-orbit ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
4 votes
0 answers
98 views

Why is ~280 km one month before reentry the lowest altitude that the final ISS crew may see? Isn't that cutting it kinda close?

Writing this answer to When will the ISS deorbit? I came across Space Policy Online's NASA Solidifies Planning to Deorbit ISS in 2031 and the image below. It shows the estimated last crew occupying ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k
3 votes
2 answers
319 views

When will the ISS deorbit?

Is this undecided or still up for debate? Also, might it be delayed or put earlier for some reason? What about if we just abandon it?
Starship - On Strike's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
72 views

What can/do astronauts look at with the portable telescopes aboard the ISS?

I would like to know what will be the visibility from the portable telescope aboard the International Space Station. What could they potentially view, and what are (at least some of) the things they ...
Prashant Akerkar's user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
174 views

New spin on laundry day: How will ISS cope with washing machine vibration and angular momentum?

Although the ISS currently has no laundry facilities, NASA’s Glenn Research Center sponsored a washing machine design contest to do the drudgery during spaceflight. Plans have been made for testing a ...
Woody's user avatar
  • 22.8k
7 votes
1 answer
263 views

How many hours/week on the ISS is spent on science vs maintenance?

This was asked in 2016 : Does ISS crew exercise time count toward their X hour work week? The answer as of 2016 was 40 hours / week for a crew of 6. But as noted there, when the crew size increases to ...
supersonic's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
547 views

Why do EVA suits have legs?

Why do EVA suits have legs? Planetary exploration suits (PES) obviously need legs. Spacesuits with legs are “a classic icon of human space exploration” and a requirement for mobility. https://www....
Woody's user avatar
  • 22.8k
1 vote
0 answers
281 views

Pressurized gloves have significant limitations. What are objective advantages/disadvantages of the alternatives? [closed]

Conventional EVA suits suffer from mobility and tactile sensory limitations due to their pressurization. Any articulated container which changes volume with motion will resist motion if pressurized. ...
Woody's user avatar
  • 22.8k
1 vote
1 answer
195 views

What are all these packages attached to a side module of the ISS? How did they all get there?

Ars Technica's New images of the International Space Station reveal that it is still a jewel includes the photo below and I've added a view of a side module with a collection of various rectangular ...
uhoh's user avatar
  • 148k

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