For two decades, the International Space Station has been a symbol of diplomatic triumph between the United States and Russia.
Russia confirmed on Tuesday its decision to withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024 and will now focus on building its own orbital base. This was reported by the new head of the country’s space agency.
Yuri Borisov, appointed head of the Roscosmos space agency earlier this month, made the announcement during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said Russia will fulfill its obligations to its ISS partners before withdrawing from the project, but warned: “The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made.”
Borisov has announced that, by then, the creation of the Russian orbital station will begin, which will be “highest priority” of the national space program.
“The future of Russian manned flights must be based above all on a systematic and balanced scientific program so that each flight enriches us with knowledge in the space field”, underlined the head of Roscosmos.
Borisov, 65, held the post of Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the Russian military-industrial complex, which also includes the space sector. On his new position, he slipped ahead of Putin: “It’s a great honor for me, but he also has additional obligations.”
“The space field is in a difficult situation and I think my main task (…) is not to lower the bar, but to raise it, especially by providing the space services necessary for the Russian economy,” he said. citing in particular navigation, communication and data transmission.
Russia will create the Russian orbital station, which will be the “top priority” of the national space program. Photo: Reuters
At the beginning of May, the Russian space agency and the company Energuia, the main Russian manufacturer of rockets and spacecraft, signed a contract to design the sketches of the future Russian orbital station (EOR).
The project will be carried out in two phases. The first involves the analysis of the variants of location and angle of the orbit, the calculation of the costs of delivering 1 kilogram of cargo to the station, the location of the initial configuration of the station and the transfer of the spacecraft from the orbit of the EOR to a lunar orbit.
The second will include the development of the project at the level of sketches and technical tasks of different variants of the future station. Furthermore, the study of the possibilities of communication with the station, the problems related to the preparation of the crews and to the unmanned and piloted operation.
According to the Russian state procurement portal, the amount of the project amounts to 2.7 billion rubles (38.9 million dollars or 37 million euros).
The first module of the new station is expected to be put into orbit in 2025 and it would take a decade to complete the EOR configuration.
tensions of war
For two decades, the International Space Station has been a symbol of diplomatic triumph between the United States and Russia, normally isolated from tensions on Earth.
Russian astronauts traveled into orbit on the spacecraft, and when it stopped flying, the Russian Soyuz spacecraft became NASA’s only orbiting trip for nearly a decade.
However, in recent months the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine has shaken this complex building that both countries are building for the conquest of space.
Source: Clarin
