Elon Musk recommends that the International Space Station be deorbited ASAP

"There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars."

See full article...

 

[Uragan]

When to deorbit the ISS is a legit question. I wonder what ya’ll would say if there is an incident aboard that dinosaur due to its age and we could have done something. It’s ancient. We can do better. We spend alot to maintain it. Maybe… take Lassie out back

It's almost like Ars wrote about NASA's decision to deorbit the ISS in 2030 or something...

 

[Uragan]

Dude I mean NOW it is ancient. Is it worth it today? Tomorrow?

Yes? It's still worth it. Someone else has already posted that there are experiments going on right now on the ISS and that there are other experiments scheduled to be conducted in the future.

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

The ISS is also an international venture. It's kind of in the name.

 

[Uragan]

I wanted to revisit this because of how braindead it is.

I wonder what ya’ll would say if there is an incident aboard that dinosaur due to its age and we could have done something.

The same thing we'd say if there was an incident onboard the ISS on day 1. Assess the risk and determine the best course of action for the future.

It’s ancient.

So? It still works.

We can do better.

We can? So where's all these magic modules going to come from? Who has the launch capacity to put them up in orbit? Where's the money to pay for all of these modules and their associated launchers?

We spend alot to maintain it.

We'd be spending a lot to maintain whatever ends up replacing the ISS.

Maybe… take Lassie out back

Why? If Lassie can still tell us that Little Timmy has fallen down the well for the one billionth time, why should we prematurely get rid of her?

 

[Chuckstar]

Humans die bro have you ever been to Everest

OMG... are you really arguing that we shouldn't worry about Musk burning down our country because hey... shit happens?

I thought your comments before were dumb. That one's just repulsive.

 

[Chuckstar]

you don’t understand. Trump just won an election with the same technique. All you have to do is scream we are going to Mars and Mexico is going to pay for it. Welcome to reality

Yet you seem to be carrying water for that attitude.

"Hey, those guys are being dipshits. I'll go on Ars and make some dipshit posts, so I don't miss out on all the fun!"

 

[OldTechGuy]

The gutting of government agencies will continue until they're replaced by private companies doing it for a lot more money with a lot less value.

Also, people need to remember Musk is taking over the government and no one elected him. Fuck that Nazi.

Problem is companies depending on the Stainless Steel Goose for their ride!

 

[TVPaulD]

Humans die bro have you ever been to Everest

I have no idea what point you thought you were making here, but it’s been expressed in such a disgusting manner I don’t really care. I just wanted to point out how mind-bendingly callous it is, in addition to being incomprehensibly stupid.

 

[dollyllama]

Send Musk to the ISS, then de-orbit.

 

[marsilies]

I wanted to revisit this because of how braindead it is.

I wonder what ya’ll would say if there is an incident aboard that dinosaur due to its age and we could have done something.

The same thing we'd say if there was an incident onboard the ISS on day 1. Assess the risk and determine the best course of action for the future.

What's crazy is that this whole thing started because NASA wouldn't fly two astronauts back on the Starliner, because it was determined to be too risky. Does anyone think that NASA isn't constantly assessing and re-assesing the condition of ISS and calculating the risk? The extensions to its flighttime only happened after it was assessed to be safe to do so.

Musk's insistence of deorbiting ISS "ASAP" has nothing to do with safety. Up until yesterday, he was perfectly fine selling NASA more flights on Dragon, and preparing a special Dragon for the planned deorbiting in 2030. This is Musk throwing a hissy fit because he got called out on one of his lies.

 

[marsilies]

I have no idea what point you thought you were making here, but it’s been expressed in such a disgusting manner I don’t really care. I just wanted to point out how mind-bendingly callous it is, in addition to being incomprehensibly stupid.

It's also in direct contrast to their faux concern about an incident happening on ISS. Depending on the argument, they either care deeply about human lives, or not at all.

 

[omarsidd]

who is presently working alongside the US president to transform the government

Transform? Funny way to spell "destroy and profit from"

We should insist Musk go up personally to oversee the project, and then de-orbit him too.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

They should settle their differences in mortal combat.

I literally heard that in Christopher Lambert's voice. And now I want to watch the film.

Curse you!

 

[dollyllama]

Human colonization of Mars is wholly impractical. Musk is an idiot.

 

[Dusfud]

Funny.

Musk has been too busy destroying the government agencies, but you want to give him the blame when a test article fails a test?

According to you, he's a really busy guy doing everything. And still has time to Xeet. While paying someone to playing Diablo

Wow. At least you indicated you totally removed all the relevant context.

I'll give you credit for at least being bold!

Note that, the negligence of a CEO makes him just as responsible.

In addition, to, you know, the part you snipped out about him undermining regulators.

 

[orwelldesign]

I think you are wrong about whom is the boss of whom.

After all that money poured into the orange pocket do you think that Musk is not the boss now?

Musk bought Trump. It was very public that "donation".

Having dealt with a few people like this: Musk thinks he bought Trump. Trump thinks he sold himself to Musk.

But when the chips are on the table, Trump will choose Trump, 100% of the time. There is a point when Trump will tell Musk to piss off -- and it will be highly visible and highly embarrassing.

Because Trump isn't an honest politician. Who's an honest politician? Someone that stays bought. No, dear sir or madam, that is not Trump's MO.

 

[orwelldesign]

US can also force china to their Tiangong space station, add US own module there and call it international venture.

Wow, out of all the stupid things I've read this week, this is easily top 3 for stupidest.

The US can't force China to do a damn thing. And even if the US could, they're impractically far apart from an orbital mechanics perspective.

 

[aleph_nought]

The ISS is also an international venture. It's kind of in the name.

Musk can have his own American Space Station.

 

[aleph_nought]

Having dealt with a few people like this: Musk thinks he bought Trump. Trump thinks he sold himself to Musk.

But when the chips are on the table, Trump will choose Trump, 100% of the time. There is a point when Trump will tell Musk to piss off -- and it will be highly visible and highly embarrassing.

Because Trump isn't an honest politician. Who's an honest politician? Someone that stays bought. No, dear sir or madam, that is not Trump's MO.

This is the best take I've read about Trump in a long time. Trump is all about the deal - it doesn't matter who he throws under the bus as long as he gets the credit for a successful negotiation.

Trump's entire cabinet is a nest of vipers who all rode into Washington on the MAGA train, and sooner or later they'll turn on each other. I'm reminded of Nazi Germany and the vicious power struggles in late 1944 when it became clear Hitler's leadership was about to result in the destruction of the German nation.

 

[SussexWolf]

Musk again calling for government actions based on self interest. In this case, freeing up NASA funding to support his dream of putting people on Mars. Wow, who’d have thought it? I mean it’s almost like firing a bunch of government employees who have gotten in his way, or putting a close friend in charge of NASA.

The wealthiest and most powerful nation is now a billionaire’s toy.

 

[Zeppos]

Musk, I looked up in the sky yesterday and the ISS is still there. No words but actions will make Amerika great again. Get on it.

Oh you are from South Africa, probably a mix of races then. Your son is a woman now? Definitely bad genes then. Get this inbred out of the country!

Thinking like a fascist is so easy and boring. Yawn.

 

[Make74]

Why deorbit it? That's a lot of tones of useful material, and there are companies working on manufacturing in space... Deorbiting seems a bit short sighted?

 

[Zbig Lebowski]

Yep, cancelled mine last year for exactly the same reason. It's incredibly disappointing.

Count me in. Just did that a minute ago.

 

[cgo_12345]

well, ISS started as russian before being hijacked as international program and every US media called it NASA's precious possession now.

You don't have to lie like this, a 10 second search on fucking Wikipedia disproves it and now you just look stupid.

 

[Derecho Imminent]

Wow, out of all the stupid things I've read this week, this is easily top 3 for stupidest.

The US can't force China to do a damn thing. And even if the US could, they're impractically far apart from an orbital mechanics perspective.

Its also illegal to cooperate in space with China.

 

[Nemexis]

Humans die bro have you ever been to Everest

When do you depart?

 

[EngineerX]

You know “Execute Killfile” would be a sick metal song though.

Killfile.exe

 

[m33_m33]

Now reorienting taxpayers money from actual science to fund a personal fantasy.

 

[Erbium68]

It’s a bunch that I like to call team rocket. They are the original ‘weird nerds protecting Musk’ caricatures who claim that they just want to talk about rockets and are totally not fascist boot lickers. I reckon if we were back in Nazi Germany in the 30s, the same bunch would be wanting to talk about how great the autobahns are for the country.

Slightly OT but the weird thing is that we now know that while vast resources were being expended on Von Braun's missiles, German aircraft engine designers, many of whom were not Nazis, were working under near-impossible conditions which crippled the Luftwaffe.
I'm not saying this wasn't a very good thing - for us! - but people should remember what happens when a crazed obsessional technocrat gets the ear of a drugged up paranoid dictator.
The entire German missile program killed fewer enemy people than one RAF/USAAF mass raid, and it gets worse when you consider the 20 000 or so slave labourers killed under Von Braun's SS lash.

 

[costinul_ala]

This second Trump term, should be a proof to everybody that the Deep State doesn't exists.

Yet. PROJECT 2025 is about building it.

 

[historic_sqrt_66]

Funny all the libs on Ars loved Elon a few years ago, his ideas about space aren't any different than they were before he joined Trump. The fact is the ISS and SLS are things that NASA needs to move on from. ISS has outlived its usefulness, the fact we don't have a replacement already in serious planning is atrocious. As for SLS, it is a huge hole we keep tossing money into.

Go away facist.

 

[aleph_nought]

Help me with some law here: what are the limits set for anyone representing or working for the federal government, in terms of corporate ownership and conflicts of interest? What Musk is doing with NASA, the DOD and D*G* (not gonna spell it out) seems to result in huge conflicts of interest when he's the one steering government policy towards his own companies.

It's fucking blatant. Why is it not illegal? Even Putin doesn't appoint Putin Corp. as the prime contractor for Roscosmos but Musk is doing that with NASA and SpaceX. Musk is also setting conditions for Starlink usage coupled with the supposed US-Ukraine metals "deal" as a way to end the war.

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

Help me with some law here: what are the limits set for anyone representing or working for the federal government, in terms of corporate ownership and conflicts of interest? What Musk is doing with NASA, the DOD and D*G* (not gonna spell it out) seems to result in huge conflicts of interest when he's the one steering government policy towards his own companies.

His CoIs are many and expansive. From the NYT (sourced on BlueSky):

... and that was a week and a half ago. It's probably even more cobwebby now.

It's fucking blatant. Why is it not illegal?

It probably is. Unfortunately the Republicans put a convicted felon in the White House, and is full of either true-believer fascists or smirking fascist enablers to the extent that you don't hear any objectors, certainly not in sufficient numbers to force accountability under the law.

The Republican Party is committing a smash-and-grab of American democracy and hijacking the system, rendering everything from norms to laws null and void because they won't enforce such things against their own wrecking ball.