Russia’s space agency on Monday revealed for the first time a physical model of what a new space station built in the country will look like, suggesting that Moscow is serious about abandoning the International Space Station (ISS). ) and go it alone.
Russia is experiencing what some Kremlin hardliners believe is a historic break with the West, sparked by sanctions imposed on what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, and is racing to reduce its dependence on Western countries and go on its own. own or cooperate with countries like China and Iran.
The West, which has accused Russia of waging an unprovoked war of imperialist-style aggression against Ukraine, has attacked the Russian economy with sanctions aimed at depriving Moscow of technology, know how and funds.
Russia’s national space agency Roscosmos unveiled a model of the planned space station, dubbed “ROSS” by state media, during Army-2022, a military-industrial exhibition on the outskirts of Moscow.
Yuri Borisov, whom President Vladimir Putin appointed last month to head Roscosmos, said Russia will leave the ISS after 2024 and is working to develop its own orbital station.
Launched in 1998, the ISS has been continuously occupied since November 2000 under a US-Russia-led partnership that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.
NASA, which wants to keep the ISS operating until 2030, said it had not yet received official confirmation of Russia’s planned withdrawal and had already understood that Moscow would continue to participate until 2028.
Roscosmos said in a statement that the new space station will launch in two stages, without giving dates.
The first phase would have a four-module space station already starting to operate. This would be followed by two more modules and a service platform, the agency said. This would be enough, when completed, to accommodate up to four cosmonauts, as well as scientific equipment.
Roscosmos said the new station will provide Russian cosmonauts with a much broader view of Earth for monitoring purposes than they enjoy in their current segment.
While designs already exist for some of the new stations, design work is ongoing in other segments.
Russian state media have suggested that the launch of the first stage is planned for 2025-26, 2030 at the latest. The launch of the second and final stage is planned for 2030-35, they also reported. The space station, as currently conceived, would not have a permanent human presence, but would be manned twice a year for extended periods.
Dmitry Rogozin, former head of Roscosmos and a hardliner known for his anti-Western statements, suggested that the new space station could fulfill a military purpose if necessary.​
