What is ISS?
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station in low Earth orbit operated by five partner space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA, and CSA.
Release history
- Aug 2026 – Philip Johnston said his company’s radiator is at least 10 times less mass per watt of dissipation and 500 times less cost per watt of dissipation than the ISS radiator.
- Aug 2026 – Neil deGrasse Tyson said that when threatened with defunding, people often rally to keep the ISS operational, suggesting it will likely remain in orbit.
In the discourse
Attributed discussion of ISS.
StarCloud's deployable radiator achieves 10x lower mass per watt and 500x lower cost per watt of dissipation compared to the ISS radiator.
“Our radiator is at least 10 times less mass per watt of dissipation than the ISS radiator and 500 times less cost per watt of dissipation than the ISS radiator.”Philip Johnston · 5 Aug 2026
ISS and Glass Lewis, the two dominant proxy advisory firms, are each more than 80% owned by non-US entities.
“These two companies are now both over 80% owned outside the US.”Bill Gurley · 6 Jun 2025
Bill Gurley observes that super-voting share structures at US companies are largely a defensive mechanism against foreign-owned proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis, not just founder control.
“One of the key reasons so many companies have super voting is so that these two companies can't tell them what.”Bill Gurley · 6 Jun 2025
Scheduled ISS deorbit in 2030 or 2031 is unlikely to happen because public and political backlash reliably reverses defunding threats for high-profile programs.
“Yes. Well, I think they'll probably keep it up there. You know, when you threaten to defund something, people come out of the woodwork and say, "No, don't do that. Keep it going.”Neil deGrasse Tyson · 11 Aug 2026