The ISS is in good condition, and its reliability is comparable to that of a refrigerator. This was announced on Thursday, October 29, by the executive director of Roscosmos Sergey Krikalev at the Museum of Cosmonautics on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the station’s operation in manned mode.
He expressed hope that the ISS, like a refrigerator or a TV, will work much longer than the warranty period.
“Everyone knows that there is a certain guaranteed lifespan of TV sets, the first year, but in practice they work longer. The refrigerator should be guaranteed to work for a year, but in practice it can work for several decades. It is normal that the real term of work is longer, ”said Krikalev.
Krikalev recalled that the ISS was planned from the very beginning taking into account a 15-year service life. But in 2013 the Zarya block and in 2015 the Zvezda block were examined and were extended for operation until 2020, and then until 2024.
Earlier, on October 28, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, announced that the corporation would start deploying the Sphere program in 2021. It involves the creation of a satellite constellation of more than 600 spacecraft.
In January, the state corporation noted that for the deployment of the Sphere multifunctional orbital constellation of more than 600 satellites, 148 launches of carrier rockets of light, medium and heavy classes, namely 88 medium rockets Soyuz-2.1b, 36 light rockets Angara -1.2 “and 24 heavy missiles” Angara-A5 “.
The missiles will not be manufactured using budget funds included in the federal target program “Sphere”, but it is not specified who will pay for their production.