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

[Raoul Lannoy]

>
>Absolutely.  And why should we believe that ISS will be occupied
>permanently for this entire period?  Remember, the US economy was in
>constant growth from 1993 until 2000, yet NASA's budget was CUT by one
>third.  Assume an economic downturn--isn't it entirely possible that ISS
>operations might be suspended at some point to save money?

One way to spend les money on the station is to keep astronauts for a longer
time aboard it.
The Russians kept their cosmonauts aboard Mir rather than return them
earlier because they needed to save money and skipped Soyuz flights.
If the ISS can get means to recycle energy, food water and air, then its
dependancy on Earth will decrease.
Besides, the ISS being an international program, it is linked to
international treaties and if one partner  has a crisis back home, another
could take over for a while.
Its international nature should be helpful to its continued operational
life.

Raoul