"forget about _accelerating_ the thing out of Earth Orbit"<p>We wouldn't be able to accelerate it in any way but a very gentle one. It's a heavy structure.<p>And as for keeping seals, metals and circuits.. That's why it's modular. You could, conceivably, replace parts of it indefinitely or, at least, for as long as you have the money and the resources.<p>If we are to repurpose the ISS in any meaningful way, we will need a heavy lifter.