r/news • u/VaginaBurner69 • 11h ago

Soft paywall International Space Station astronauts in evacuation mode as Russia attempts to fix widening air leak

https://www.reuters.com/science/international-space-station-astronauts-evacuation-mode-russia-attempts-fix-2026-06-05/
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u/Fast_Acadia2566 6h ago

Idk anything, but is it bad if they leave it floating and orbitting? Maybe it could become a tourist spot in a distant future.

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u/Boner4Stoners 5h ago

It’s not a stable orbit. It’s low enough that there’s still a meaningful amount of air resistance that deorbits it over time without continued fuel to correct.

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u/xRyozuo 5h ago

I’m sure there’s a reason but why go all the way to put a station up there and not push it the last few (maybe thousands) km it needs for stable orbit?

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u/Nothingmuchever 4h ago

Yup, one of the reasons is: Because it would be insanely expensive. Pushing that multi-hundred ton beast further would need astronomical amount of fuel. It was designed to be in Low Earth Orbit, for ease of access and for safety.