RE: The future of the space station.
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So, do you think the ISS will stay in space indefinitely or be deorbited?
The cost of getting things into space is so high that I always imagined that they would just gradually add more and more stuff to the space station with older sections being used for storage. Other articles point to the high cost of maintenance and think that older stations should follow Mir and be dropped into the earth's atmosphere. Such as this article:
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It is very interesting how NASA is awarding contracts to manage the services needed in the ISS a private company called Axiom:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-first-commercial-destination-module-for-international-space-station
https://www.space.com/axiom-space-station-first-private-crew-approved
https://www.space.com/nasa-approves-axiom-space-second-iss-mission
The stuff that people put in space should be seen as assets with corresponding liabilities. So, I see nothing wrong with involving the private sector as the private sector often does a better job of maximizing the return from assets while reducing associated risks and liabilities.
NOTE: The private sector fails when that system allows private companies to externalize their costs and shunt off their liabilities onto the public.
Liability in space is a very particular case, Space is under international law and the Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967 and followed by a liability convention in 1971.
It is state there that the launching state is liable for any damage caused by a space object.