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Countries Considering Circumlunar Flight From ISS
FleaPlus writes "The BBC reports that the space agencies of Europe, Russia, and the US are in (very) preliminary discussions about a potential collaborative mission where astronauts would assemble a small spacecraft at the ISS, then fly it around the Moon and back. This is somewhat similar to previously-proposed commercial missions, with many elements adapted from spacecraft systems already in existence. This would also be a testbed for eventual asteroid and Mars missions, which would likely require modules to be launched on multiple rockets and assembled in space."
No, you can't just refuel a shuttle in orbit. I don't know if you've noticed, but the shuttle's tanks drop off the thing on its way up.
And even if it kept its tanks on it, it's not a station wagon. You don't just refuel it and turn the key. It is designed for one launch, from a big complicated tower, and then must be overhauled before launching again.
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