Well, houses can be stripped down to a state where they can’t support their primary function while they are renovated. Space stations are harder to handle in that way.
Okay, but if we’re intending to have a permanent presence in space, it’s unreasonable in the long run to have to keep throwing stations out completely and launching new ones from scratch every few decades. We’re going to have to figure out how to do “space renovations” sooner or later. Why not try now?
The easiest way to do that in the long term will likely be to have several space stations in orbit at a time so you can renovate one while using the others for habitation for the people who do that work.
Well, houses can be stripped down to a state where they can’t support their primary function while they are renovated. Space stations are harder to handle in that way.
Okay, but if we’re intending to have a permanent presence in space, it’s unreasonable in the long run to have to keep throwing stations out completely and launching new ones from scratch every few decades. We’re going to have to figure out how to do “space renovations” sooner or later. Why not try now?
The easiest way to do that in the long term will likely be to have several space stations in orbit at a time so you can renovate one while using the others for habitation for the people who do that work.