aRandomFox-II t1_jc7s7k6 wrote on March 14, 2023 at 5:41 PM

Reply to comment by JayR_97 in NASA wants new 'deorbit tug' to bring space station down in 2030 by DevilsRefugee

Or disassemble it and bring it back to recycle the parts/materials rather than let it all burn up in the atmosphere.

dragonlax t1_jc7w155 wrote on March 14, 2023 at 6:05 PM

That would require the invention of new heat shield tech, getting it up to space (it will be very heavy and horribly expensive to lift), then install it, add parachutes, flotation devices, etc. You’re talking tens of manned flights costing $100m+ each just to recycle 20+ year old tech, no use for it at all.

Pharisaeus t1_jcaacjp wrote on March 15, 2023 at 12:34 PM

> recycle the parts/materials

That's completely pointless. It's not a solid block of aluminium or something else which can easily be recycled. Consider that ever on Earth we don't "recycle" things like cars, because it's just not practical - it would be more expensive than making a new thing from scratch.