I’ve been wondering what would happen if one of the big solar panel structures suffered a complete failure, or another gyro failure. Without the shuttle to haul up a replacement, the station would be very limited, possibly not able to support the planned 6-man crew. The Progress is not big enough, and its cargo always enters the ISS from the inside. The solar panel needs to be on the outside. Is the ATV capable of being modified to take up structures that can be accessed from the outside? I can imagine there are a number of repair parts that need to be brought up and accessed from the outside. Without the shuttle how would they do that? It’s hard to believe they would arbitrarily shut down the shuttle flights in 2010 if the ISS were not finished. It should have been agreed to shut down the shuttle flights WHEN the ISS is finished.