zx7
zx7 t1_jdbbdhe wrote
Reply to comment by Riptide360 in Industry sees missed opportunity in deorbiting ISS by ye_olde_astronaut
>The tug boat NASA is building for $80 million could just as easily push up as it does down.
"Just as easily." It's much easier to deorbit something. Just decelerate it enough so that it's orbit intersects with the atmosphere. You can't just "push up" and expect the ISS to maintain a nice, circular orbit around the Earth.
zx7 t1_jdbcqp6 wrote
Reply to comment by PhoenixReborn in Industry sees missed opportunity in deorbiting ISS by ye_olde_astronaut
Is the ISS even designed to do that? How much would it cost just to get it into a different orbit and will the ISS even last long enough for there to be any benefit?