Our old ISS threads are old. Not befitting grandeur of this thing which may be in its last 8 years. > Most expensive thing ever built, at least by some measures > Likely largest joint US/FSU/etc construction project to ever be (I guess) > Housed more space folks than any other project to date, thus main source of info about humans for exploring 'further' > Now, with primary constructor US recalibrating its space activity, > Resupplied by Russia, Euro, Japan, and US commercial flinging > Has a strange drill hole == Most recent resuppply was by Japan "White Stork". This is Prius related for initiating changeover from nickel-based to lithium rechargeable batteries.
I still don't understand what the hell the US is(has) being waiting for, to have its own resupply ship to the ISS. Don't get me its the cost of building such engines that's the problem. I'd prefer the Japanese, than the USA building those resupply engines than the Russians. The Russians seems unreliable, somehow, with the unpredictability of Putin. They might decide one day to stop the sale of it's engines to the USA. What then happens?
@2. Fair enough. But while it's there it is an essential ISS component. For each 3 aboard a getaway vehicle is required. Them's the rules.
Commercial US offers two resupply vehicles and (today) no getaways. US govt offers 0&0 presently. US govt plan is to leapfrog past ISS to do bigger things, on a longer timeline. Someone else might speak to US use of Russian RD-180 engine, but it is not involved in human launches.
Maybe the USA, might as well, leave that aspect of resupply to private spa e corporations, like SpaceX, and others. That kinda cuts costs somehow. Thanks for tour inputs to this.
SpaceX Dragon is the only plausible near-term alternative to Soyuz for human return from ISS. Euro and Japan have not announced any attempts at this. Would be great for someone to add up all Soyuz 'occupied' landings. I think there have been many. It may be a rough article, but without competition. Excepting of course China, disinvited to ISS play.
The Russians already gave the USA notice of intent to not extend the crew delivery contract, once the original contract expires. That notice was some years ago. That contract expires very soon now. When the Space Shuttle program was shut down, the U.S. intended to have a new delivery vehicle operating before that Russian contract expired. But real world schedule delays and budget problems and politics intervened, as they always have ever since the moon landing era ended.
Most recent Soyuz MS-09 has famous drill hole. Future scheduled MS-10 through MS-16, 2018 October through 2020 October, each include one or two US astronauts among 3. No further Soyuz are now scheduled. No other ISS crew ups/downs are scheduled during this time. By any country or company.
Abandon in place? Probably not.... That just means that the nation's second most notorious mass tweeter is now in the catbird seat for resupply ops. Fortunately.......X isn't a publicly traded company. The Rooskies have always been cash poor....so no adult in the room thinks that they'll walk away from the gig if X continues to under-deliver...... Edit: 137 or 138?
