[FPSPACE] Last Few Hours in History of Unmanned Space?

[Phillip Clark]

On Mon, 30 Oct 2000 JamesOberg@aol.com wrote:
> Last Few Hours in History of Unmanned Space?

Will ISS become any more a permantly-occupied station that the Mir
Complex has been ?   That was occupied for just a few days short of ten
years.   And who is to say that when ISS is abandoned there will be
another human outpost in orbit either ready to or already taking over the
role ?

My own somewhat-biased view is that space station work is something to
keep humans doing something in space until we decide to get down to the
Real Thing and start going places again: like the Moon, Mars and
beyond.   Because my worry is that if we stop human spaceflight for
whatever reason (ISS has just decayed !) it could be decades before we
find a reason to start once more.

Phillip Clark

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Phillip S Clark                                     22 Winterbourne Close
Molniya Space Consultancy                           Hastings
Compiler/Publisher, Worldwide Satellite Launches    E Sussex  TN34 1XG
                                                    U.K.

Specialist in "space archeology" - the older and more obscure the more 
interesting it is !
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