i meant to say Rockets are NOT a smart idea for this

because the ISS was not designed for any of the defenses OR travel like has been mentioned, and yes i meant mass. i was refering to the ION drive as a newer propulsion system, i didnt specifically say they should use it.. but something with better efficiency.. why waste mass on rocket fuel when something lighter and more efficient is available. Rockets are a smart idea for this.

Government contractors? Do you even realize what Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrup Grumman and other companies like this accomplished? I have to assume not, otherwise you wouldn't be insinuating they only want to do the bare minimum... that or you have no clue what actually goes on with contracts like these.

the ISS needs the earths magnetic field to protect it from solar radiation... the 2 most reliable defenses against it are 1.. about 6 feet of lead to shield from it or 2. create a magnetic field large enough to protect the ISS once it out of earths magnetic field, i am not sure if we have this technology yet and if we did... it would be HUGE so not very likely to fit on the ISS anyway. Another problem assuming the first is fixed.. is fuel... rockets would be a waste of money... would be better off with a newer technology(like deep space one had, ion propulsion) might take a bit to get up to speed but if you are only going to stick it in an orbit around the moon it wouldnt take much with a slingshot from earth. its only about 200k miles anyway.(also dont forget how much fuel you would need for each type of propulsion system... rocket fuel isn't very efficient for long distances and it would take up a LARGE LARGE LARGE amount of space and add weight that you just cant have for this type of thing) It would be more effective to build a spacecraft thats actually designed for interplanetary travel and use the ISS as a "hub" for the spacecraft or something... there are plenty of uses for the ISS beyond 2020, but having it be a manned interplanetary spacecraft just doesn't seem like a viable one.