Dealing with ISS trash

There are a number of other things that one can do. You can actually
recycle all of the trash or garbage. At least half of the people on this list
could figure it out and not break a sweat.
Address the subject. Don't dance around it like you are working for NASA.

John Wayne Smith

In a message dated 4/17/2012 10:38:20 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

Well there are two options, either includes developing a mass launcher to
dump the waste for extra lift. First you could put up a modest scaffolding
outside the station to hold the excess progress modules until you lift a 6
sided dock module that could link with the ISS and allow the 5 extra
modules to be linked there. Then when you build up 4 more progress modules,
you'd have to send up another 6 sided and it would extend the first outward
from the station.

Or you could redesign progress to have two hatches, one in front and one
in back, so that with every docking of progress you add to the station. Not
sure how long it would take or how expensive it would be to redesign
progress or design a new 6 sided docking module.
Brooks

--- In spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com, "Victor Smith" wrote:
>
> Al,
> I couldn't find data for progress right away, but here's the stuff on
the
> ATV, which has cargo capacity far out doing progress. Each of these
> spacecraft cost us $300,000,000.00, and carry 8 tons of cargo (that's a
> lot).
> With the ATV docked, the station crew enters the cargo section and
removes
> the payload. The ATV's liquid tanks are connected to the station's
plumbing
> and discharge their contents. The station crew manually releases air
> components directly into the ISSs atmosphere. For up to six months,
the
> ATV, mostly in dormant mode, remains attached to the ISS with the hatch
> remaining open. The crew then steadily fills the cargo section with the
> station's waste. At intervals of 10 to 45 days, the ATVs thrusters
are used
> to boost the station's altitude.
> Once its mission is accomplished, the ATV, filled with up to 6.5 tonnes
of
> waste, separates. Its thrusters move the spacecraft out of orbit
(de-orbit)
> and place it on a steep flight path to perform a controlled destructive
> re-entry high above the Pacific Ocean.
> So, the ATV sits on station for 6 months, doesn't look like it's
crowding
> out anyting else. And as for the lack of fuel, it would be a small
thing to
> bring up actual fuel stores (or perhaps some of that 'waste' hydrogen)
and
> provide enough fuel (it wouldn't take much-they're in space) to move the
> spacecraft to where they might actually be a huge asset rather than a
> garbage can. Just a couple of suggestions might be to move them where
they
> could hook up with one of the Bigelow inflatable habitats that are up
there
> or coming soon, or even out to one of the LaGrange Points for use with
> construction or transport in that future hotspot. But, DON'T THROW AWAY
> $300 MILLION SPACECRAFT THAT ARE ALREADY IN SPACE AND READY TO USE, IT
JUST
> DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!!
>
> From: Al Globus
> Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 12:49 AM
> To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] Dealing with ISS trash
>
> On Apr 16, 2012, at 7:48 AM, Combs, Mike wrote:
>
> > > It seems to me that the ISS could just use a trash compactor then
> > shoot the
> > > packages into the atmosphere to burn up WITHOUT wasting the
> > spacecraft,
> >
> The spacecraft is dumped because there's no good place to put it and
> no good use to put it to in the immediate future. There are only a
> couple of docking ports on the ISS. If you didn't get rid of the
> Progress capsules you would, very quickly, not be able to dock with
> the ISS. If you fly the Progress free it will run out of reboost fuel
> very quickly and deorbit in some random place -- not good.
> Furthermore, while waiting to deorbit it sucks up ground station
> resources.
>
> That's why they dump them quickly. Since they are going anyway,
> putting the trash in them makes sense.
>
> > Might be a good first-use verification of mass-driver technology.
> >
> > Ive often wondered if one couldnt use a tether to lower the
trash
> > and then release. On release, the station would get a slight orbital
> > boost, so itd be a win-win.
> >
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Mike Combs
> >
> -----
04/16/12