NASA plans to deorbit the ISS sometime around 2030. Building something the size of the ISS in orbit is a huge undertaking and NASA keeps talking about wanting to build new space stations or a moon base, so why not leave the ISS in space and reuse it rather than literally throw the whole thing away?
In: Planetary Science
It would take enormous amounts of propellant to boost the ISS into a safe orbit. The ISS weighs 400 tons, and you’ll need a few km/s change in velocity to get it to a distant Earth or Solar orbit. From the rocket equation, using chemical rockets, the amount of propellant needed is 2-3 times the mass of the station.
In theory, a fully orbital-refuelled Starship could do this, if it existed. But why? Lots could go wrong.
Also, instead of sending up all those tankers, Starship could return some pieces of the ISS to Earth for museums.
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