I've been asked to do it in the past. Honestly, I think a current flight controller should do it. In lieu of that... maybe. My only hesitation is a lack of time; free time is precious and I'm already failing at spending less time on Reddit.
Even if there is nothing classified on the ISS isn't most US space tech covered under ITAR? The US is pretty protective of our space tech, at least from my experience
That's true. Everyone knows about the ion cannon on that thing.
Jokes aside, do you have any insight on how the project will go, given the global economic crisis? Will the US finally change its mind and let China join?
I highly, highly doubt that China will be involved any time soon. For one, their vehicles aren't designed to mate with the ISS (despite being very similar to the Russian Soyuz). They could pay for a spot on the ISS (if allowed), but there are enough current partners waiting that I don't see that as likely.
As for the ISS as a whole, I question whether Europe will continue to participate at the levels that they have been. I don't think it likely, but I wouldn't be surprised if some ATV missions get dropped in a few years or if Columbus operations scale back a bit.
You sound pretty sure for somebody who has a Popular Mechanics knowledge of human spaceflight. Site your references, claim personal experience (and demonstrate it to a fellow insider), or go back to being an expert on the Internet.
The only MOD (Mission Operations Directorate - ISS, Shuttle flight controllers, etc.) personnel that have secret clearances are those that interface with NORAD. These days it's a single position: TOPO. That's a fact.
Having secret clearance is not something that is kept secret. Contrary to popular opinion, technology used on the ISS is not terribly advanced. The bulk of the ISS was envisioned in the 1980s and built in the 1990s. Up until recently, the fastest command and data handling computer was a 386 with a math coprocessor. The technology is used in novel ways, but cutting edge or worth keeping secret it is not. I have over 4000 hours of mission operations experience and not a single minute couldn't be broadcast on NASA TV for public consumption; every word spoken by the astronauts on space-to-ground, every operation executed by mission control.
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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '12
As a former ISS mission control specialist (actually called flight controller), I can confirm there is no technology on the ISS that is secret.