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Used where and for what? The international space station was originally intended as a low earth orbit base for human space activity, then gradually morphed into a low-gravity laboratory.



Drop it on the moon if nobody wants it. Could be a Theme Park when we settle.


The space station can't hold itself together on the moon, it is not built for 1/6g; you might be able to position it in lunar orbit, but that would be quite expensive; higher orbits would preserve the station just as well at much lower cost, but the station would be an unsafe derelict in a few years.


Would it really be all that expensive though. We are going to have to send tons of mass out there eventually. Is there anything fundamentally different about a lunar orbit that would make such a base not as useful. I understand it was not designed to experience large acceleration forces but could we not use this as an opportunity to test ion drives and/or other low impulse drive mechanism? Slowly inch it towards a linear orbit? Then send astronauts to meet it in orbit with a next gen reusable lunar lander? On a SpaceX heavy and or SLS?


I wasn't really serious but I guess it was too well hidden when I look at the votes ;)


Nice idea. But, just to play with the numbers, it would require tons of fuel and, unless ura thinks of a debris field instead of a park, we must break and descent it there.

I suppose that whould cost a lot more than 140 billions.




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