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You didn't add in what I'd say. Typical. It's up there, so we might as well use it. At the very least we can stripit down for materials. It's the only space station we have at the moment so we might as well get some use out of it. You seem to advocate its immediete deorbit. I, on the other hand, want to use it to build spacecraft. I am in favour of using what we've been lumped with or lumped ourselves with.
Use what is abundant and build to last
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Really, the best thing we can do with the ISS is as a testbed for new station technologies. Once the Ares V is flying, design a big logistics module that would dock for several months to a year at a time to eliminate the need for several Progress launches. It could be partially pressurized, have air locks, plus probably as much Lab space as the station itself, and we wouldn't be tied down for decades with an outdated design. Being roughly the same size as the Shuttle you avoid stresses the station wasn't designed for.
I suppose you could use it a work site for lunar cyclers, or construction orbiters, but keep in mind that once done, you'll have to change their orbit to something more useful.
"Yes, I was going to give this astronaut selection my best shot, I was determined when the NASA proctologist looked up my ass, he would see pipes so dazzling he would ask the nurse to get his sunglasses."
---Shuttle Astronaut Mike Mullane
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The ISS is particularly good for nations to make friends with each other and learn how to work together.
Ron Carlson
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