The Russians do not want to leave the International Space Station until 2028

Roscosmos employees shared that message with their American counterparts at NASA on Wednesday evening. In their words, they first want to wait for the creation of a new Russian space station, so that the cosmonauts – as the Russian cosmonauts are called in the space world – also have a cosmic base in the run-up to the new station ready .

2028 ahead of the planned completion date for other ISS participants. The US, Europe, Canada and Japan don’t want to pull the “plug” out of the station until around 2030. It is expected by then that commercial space stations will be available, where astronauts from those governments can rent a place.

concrete plans

Whether the Russians will actually be able to create their own space station in 2028 is in question. The last major module of the International Space Station was launched by Russia last year, but it was an old spare part and had been in storage for decades before that. In addition, after the launch, the engines of the unit began to fire unexpectedly, causing the International Space Station to start suddenly.

The last private Russian space station, Mir, was in orbit between 1986 and 2001. I don’t see such a new station coming. Space consultant Eric Lan said earlier that this is too expensive, what should they do with it de Volkskrant.

but Roscosmos presented Tuesday Concrete plans for what will be called the Russian Orbital Space Station (ROSS), including parts drawings, construction schedule and concrete technical details.

release

What a possible mass exodus of Russians around 2028 would mean for the current International Space Station is still unknown. Half of the station consists of Russian units that are physically connected to the American western part in several ways. For example, different cables run from one side of the station to the other. So you can’t just cut both parts apart.

At the same time, Russian spaceships, docked alongside it, are currently making course corrections to keep the International Space Station in its 400-kilometer orbit above the Earth’s surface. However, with six years left on the clock, and the willingness that companies like American SpaceX have pledged to consider alternatives, it is expected that there will be enough time to find a solution to those problems.