“ISS is a hugely expensive waste of cash. No scientific value.”
You could not be more wrong a thousand times over. Orbital space stations such as the ISS will soon be indispensable stepping stones to the commercial use of space producing more additional gross domestic products than the entire United States produces today. Todays investors in the successful companies participating in the commercial space business can potentially become the next billionaires by the time of the retirements. This is not hyperbole, because the potential commercial income from civilian business activities in space are enough to make Apple Inc. look like very very small potatoes.
There is also the matter of “The High Ground”, which the United States cannot afford to cede to nations which are declaring themselves to be the enemies of the United States and seek to conquer mankind on the Earth.
But the POTUS says we can just wipe out any enemies with UAVs and special forces like we did bin Laden. And that is why America is shooting itself in the foot, or maybe even chopping it’s own right hand off, I am not sure which is more accurate.
“ISS is a hugely expensive waste of cash. No scientific value.”
Iowamark is right. The ISS either reproduces knowledge we already have, or the knowledge that is new can be obtained in much cheaper ways. The ISS is a “make work” program for NASA.
There is no commercial use of manned spaceflight. ISS has no commercial purpose or value. A low earth orbit craft like ISS contributes nothing to space travel. ISS is only 200 miles above earth. It is at least 365 million miles to Jupiter.
Commercial profits? Even if there were gold or diamonds sitting on the moon or on asteroids, it would not be profitable to go get them. The costs are much too high.
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Please list three “science” discoveries from the ISS.
The station has cost billions and other than some very rudimentary high altitude plasma stuff (photo work mostly for Sprites) I’ve seen nothing for the billions poured down this rathole.
Well, and some random ham radio contacts for a happy few.
Spot on. Good reply to an ignorant post.
We own space, for now. Thanks to Clinton allowing Loral Space to give the solid rocket secret to the Chinese, we are on the verge of NOT OWNING space.
The two junior private space agencies aren’t having much luck, of late, getting stuff to the ISS anyway. Good luck getting a main space station module up there to replace the Russians.