Why It’s IMPOSSIBLE to Build Another ISS | Michio Kaku скачать в хорошем качестве

Why It’s IMPOSSIBLE to Build Another ISS | Michio Kaku

Professor Michio Kaku reveals a shocking truth: the International Space Station represents an achievement that will never be repeated. Not because we don't want to—but because the unique circumstances that made the ISS possible no longer exist and will never exist again. The ISS is the most expensive object ever built—over $150 billion in construction costs plus $150 billion in operational costs over 30 years. That's $300 billion total to keep 6-7 people in orbit doing experiments that could mostly be done on Earth or with robots. The cost per person: $1 billion per year. Why it can't be repeated: The ISS required a perfect storm of circumstances that existed only briefly in the 1990s-2000s: End of Cold War creating US-Russia cooperation that no longer exists Political will for international mega-projects that has evaporated Budget priorities that modern governments won't support Geopolitical harmony that has fractured irreversibly Public enthusiasm that has turned to indifference The brutal economics: Operating costs: $5-6 billion per year globally just to keep it running. For that money we could fund the National Science Foundation for a year, build hundreds of hospitals, support thousands of researchers doing groundbreaking work on Earth. Scientific return? Minimal. Thousands of papers but no revolutionary discoveries. Nothing that justifies $300 billion. The ISS has taught us mainly that keeping humans alive in space is far harder and more expensive than we thought—knowledge that points away from space colonization, not toward it. Why commercial stations will fail: Companies like Axiom and Blue Origin promise cheaper alternatives. But the business model doesn't work: Space tourism: maybe 100 customers per year at $50-100M each = insufficient revenue Research: grants measured in millions, not the hundreds of millions needed Manufacturing: no products identified that justify space production costs Result: commercial stations will operate briefly on venture capital, fail to generate revenue, and be abandoned The technical reality: The ISS requires constant maintenance—dozens of spacewalks per year, continuous internal repairs, regular resupply missions. After 24 years, it's aging badly. More leaks, more failures, more dangerous repairs. Russia may withdraw soon. NASA plans to deorbit it by 2030-2031. What replaces it? Nothing comparable. Maybe small commercial modules with 2-3 people. Maybe China's Tiangong continues for another decade. But the era of large international space stations is over. Why even cheap launches don't solve this: SpaceX reduced launch costs by 70%. Sounds great until you realize it doesn't change the fundamental equation. If the ISS cost $150B with old rockets, maybe it costs $50B with SpaceX. That's still $50 billion with no economic justification. Launch costs are only part of total costs. You still need module construction, mission control, ground support, astronaut training, operational infrastructure—all costing billions regardless of launch prices. What we should do instead: Robotic exploration delivers 1000× more science per dollar: Mars rovers: $10B total over 20 years, revolutionary discoveries about Martian geology and potential for life Space telescopes: Hubble + Webb = $20B, transforming our understanding of the universe ISS: $300B, minimal scientific return The choice is obvious: focus on robots, space telescopes, Earth observation satellites, and planetary probes. Let humans visit space occasionally for specific purposes, but abandon the fantasy of permanent presence in orbit. The future: By the 2040s, we may have no permanent crewed presence in space at all. Just robotic missions delivering extraordinary science, Earth observation helping us manage our planet, and space telescopes revealing cosmic wonders. The ISS era is ending. It will never be repeated. And that's actually okay—because it taught us that crewed spaceflight beyond Earth is too expensive for too little return. Time to accept reality and focus on space exploration that actually works. #MichioKaku #ISS #SpaceStation #SpaceExploration #NASA #Impossible #SpaceX #CommercialSpace #Robotics #SpaceTelescope #MarsRover #Physics #InternationalSpaceStation #Roscosmos #ChinaSpace #Tiangong #BlueOrigin #AxiomSpace #SpaceCosts #FutureOfSpace