The Science and Power Module (SEM), which was created for the International Space Station (ISS), will be redesigned for use in the new orbital station in Russia. On April 21, the head of the state corporation “Roscosmos” Dmitry Rogozin told reporters about this.
He noted that Russia has decided to independently build a new orbital station, because this is the only way to make it well. According to Rogozin, the bulk of the payload will be located not inside, but outside.
The head of Roscosmos also added that the equipment of the Russian segment of the ISS has already reached 80% of its service life, so the construction of a new orbital station is also economically justified.
“There is an understanding that the funds that will be required to maintain the Russian segment of the ISS, including the dispatch of ships, maintaining the necessary equipment at the station, which today is already about 80% out of service, will require approximately the same funds that will be required from 2025 to 2030 year for the deployment of a separate Russian orbital station “, – quotes Rogozin TASS.
A day earlier, Rogozin said that the launch of the first base module for the new Russian space station should be provided in 2025.
On April 18, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov announced Moscow’s plans to withdraw from the ISS project from 2025 and start creating its own orbital station.
On the same day, the press service of Roscosmos reported that the decision to continue work on the Russian segment of the ISS would be made after 2024.
The ISS was launched into orbit in 1998, and two years later the first cosmonauts moved into the station. The participants of the international project are 14 countries: Russia, USA, Japan, Canada and members of the European Space Agency Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, France, Switzerland, Sweden. The station will expire in 2024. In November, it became known about plans to extend its work until 2030.