Is ISS worth $3 billion per year?

I was looking at this NASA budget overview and was surprised that ISS costs almost $3 billion per year. If NASA really wants to free-up some money to search for life on Mars, they could arrange an "accident" and plunge it into the ocean. I don't know what we are learning from ISS at this point.

www.nasa.gov...

What do you mean by, 'at this point'?

The ISS construction was just completed in March, at least as far as the completion of the main solar panels goes. Lots of other experiments planned for ISS installation have not yet arrived there. Since it is an international effort, sources for information you seek should be huge.

So far you found a NASA site, Good Job!

reply to post by cloudyday

The ISS are conducting many experiments which will help Human's go farther into space...money well spent in my view.
It like Mir is one of our first steps into helping humanity reach out into the universe.
We are explorers, we feel the need to go beyond where we can not go.

Imagine what NASA and the world could accomplish if the trillions of dollars spent warmongering were redirected their way.

Nobody would notice a measly 3 billion then.

reply to post by Kryties


Yup if we all just said No to the wars and used the money to reach out, I bet we would have people living on Mars in 50 years.
Great post dude

i'd imagine that the 3 billion costs would be offset by each project paying towards its costs so it would cost 3 billion just to leave it up there and send up rockets every now and again to refuel/add food,water,oxygen etc just to maintain it as is but a few hundred million here from some country and a few hundred million there from another country and suddenly the cost has gone down

Yes! Yes! Yes! The whole world should be made to contribute financially to the ISS. imho.

Originally posted by supamoto
Yes! Yes! Yes! The whole world should be made to contribute financially to the ISS. imho.

Its called the International space station not the American space station, many countrys pay for it...

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by supamoto


Yes, since it is supposed to be an international effort.
I would like to see more beeing done at the ISS.

Space Stations in Fiction

But first we need a Space Elevator to make things cheaper to haul stuff up there.
Then we can build a bigger space station.

Of course it's not. NASA should be focusing less on space and focus more on telling Muslims that they aren't really killers, but good scientific contributors. The world needs better bombs, right?

Originally posted by boymonkey74
reply to post by cloudyday

 

The ISS are conducting many experiments which will help Human's go farther into space...money well spent in my view.

When the US stops funding that thing, maybe the ISS could set up a paypal account so that people like you can pitch in - and put your money where your mouth is.

People can be too charitable when the money doesn't come out their own pocket.

Originally posted by Exuberant1
When the US stops funding that thing, maybe the ISS could set up a paypal account so that people like you can pitch in - and put your money where your mouth is.

People can be too charitable when the money doesn't come out their own pocket.

I like that idea actually. It would be great if everything was done that way. People get to choose where their money goes. They can donate it to crack heads on welfare, or the military, or the ISS, or to be sent to third world countries. Let people decide. Great idea. I'd love to see how many of the bleeding hearts would donate to the welfare rats. That would be hilarious! I support your idea. Let's set up accounts for everything we're currently being taxed on.

reply to post by Exuberant1


Like I have said the ISS is funded by many countrys and I do pay for it in my taxes.....
en.wikipedia.org...

Whats better spending 683.7 billion on bombs which kill people or spending 3 billion which benefits the whole of mankind?

Some of my tax money went towards the ISS--and they didn't even ask me
Let's see a list of those 'experiments that could help humanity in space'
The ISS was outdated before it was built, just like the shuttle.
I guess they have to show people something for their billions........Why not show us the new base on Mars

Originally posted by Kryties
Imagine what NASA and the world could accomplish if the trillions of dollars spent warmongering were redirected their way.

Nobody would notice a measly 3 billion then.

If that had happened back in the 60's instead of Vietnam, the Cold War and the Middle East to come in the late 70's to present day....I'd say we'd have hotels on the Moon by now, a Gateway station in Earth Orbit for coming and going to the outer planets and science stations on Mars and smaller moons around the Solar System.

Oh yes... If the budgets spent on ways to kill our fellow man were ever turned to the FUTURE of man, we'd have a VERY bright future indeed. George Jetson had NOTHING on what we could be......if we'd just stop slaughtering each other like it's a sport.

reply to post by playswithmachines


Sigh...
www.esa.int...
www.esa.int...
www.jaxa.jp...

This I think is a big list
www.nasa.gov...

I really could go on and on posting many experiments but Iam watching a movie..

the ISS will have studies of long term weightlessness...so as to see just what a long voyage to Mars might entail
both physically and psychologically...

to make a Mars flight simulation 'real' the test subjects should have their radio transmission voice delayed just as they would have as would happen as the astronauts sped towards Mars some 10s of millions of miles away.


also the ISS could be growing really bizzare, lifeforms genetically altered for space existance...
and a robotic system would not suffice


then i question the accounting baseline that it costs NASA $3Billion of its budget for the
ISS....just how does one breakdown the exact costs when so many programs are intermingled?
Its just a guestimation ammount, that i say is 'padded' at that... so that the other mundane expenses
are overlooked and NASA can ask for additional funds the next year

(how much of that $3bn is for the retirement funds of all those NASA engineers/technicians
how much is for floor wax)


the govt is just stringing us out--- imho

Yes, it is worth the funds. Personally I believe any exploration of space shouldn't be limited by money (since it's an advancement for mankind). I'd like to wake up one day and see whoever is president talking about manned missions to mars. Our space expeditions were cause for a lot of legitimate patriotism not so long ago, it'd be nice to have something to be proud of.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that most of the research pertains to keeping astronauts in space for longer periods of time. I had always heard about growing crystals in space but I've also heard from critics that there are cheaper alternatives. I suspect most of the research on ISS would be hard to justify except for the research on life support systems, bone loss, etc. It's all about preparing for a manned Mars mission that will never happen.

reply to post by cloudyday


Why will it never happen?
If you look at the Nasa link above it isn't just about what space does to the body, we can study the earth in much better ways, it's about chemistry, physic's loads of different science's.