What a Drag

Some questions concerning atmospheric drag in low orbit:

1) Was the International Space Station/Space Station Freedom meant to
orbit at 300-400km originally (c1990), or was it slated for higher
altitudes?
2) How much would drag be reduced (percentage wise) if the station
operated at 600km vs 400km? (For the sake of argument, say the station
could get there in the first place.)

Partly related:

Does a 600km or 700km equatorial orbit expose a vehicle or station to
significantly more radiation than a 300-400km orbit?

And mostly unrelated:

What's the US space shuttle's maximum altitude, both hardware- and
regulation-limited? I've seen 600 miles, 500 miles (on a NASA page)
and 600 kilometers in a web search.

Mike Miller, Materials Engineer

Some questions concerning atmospheric drag in low orbit:

1) Was the International Space Station/Space Station Freedom meant to
orbit at 300-400km originally (c1990), or was it slated for higher
altitudes?
2) How much would drag be reduced (percentage wise) if the station
operated at 600km vs 400km? (For the sake of argument, say the station
could get there in the first place.)

Partly related:

Does a 600km or 700km equatorial orbit expose a vehicle or station to
significantly more radiation than a 300-400km orbit?

And mostly unrelated:

What's the US space shuttle's maximum altitude, both hardware- and
regulation-limited? I've seen 600 miles, 500 miles (on a NASA page)
and 600 kilometers in a web search.

Mike Miller, Materials Engineer