Russia said on Tuesday that it will abandon the International Space Station after 2024 and build its own space station.
According to a new interview with the head of flight operations for Russian space company Energia, the country's vision for its upcoming station dubbed Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) isn't much different than any other station in the world.
The ROSS station sounds like a step backwards compared to what the International Space Station is capable of.
China's brand-new space station won't be the same as the International Space Station.
The cost of having a rotating crew in a space station was pointed out by the man in the interview. He argued that Russia could more effectively use the resources needed for a permanent crew to run scientific experiments in space, while also allowing the station to travel in a different orientation.
When the necessary amount of work is collected, only astronauts can perform, he said. We haven't found a balance between the duration and the number of flights.
It would take up to two months for a crewed expedition to complete repairs. The plan is to have crews visit ROSS twice a year.
The station will be able to look at the Earth's poles and magnetosphere thanks to its inclination. Satellites are able to observe the surface below with consistent lighting because they maintain the same relationship with the sun.
The station will feature a docking module that will add six docking stations as well as a "Scientific and Energy Module" at some point in the future.
The Nauka module was docked with the International Space Station.
Russia is trying to go far beyond scientific endeavors.
ROSS can be used as a base for assembling a lunar or Martian complex. Smaller rockets could be used to complete the trip to the moon.
Russia's goal is to complete the construction of a multi-segment space station in less than two years.
It's unrealistic to have crews visit a new station by the year 2030. Many delays pushed the launch of the Nauka module to last year, despite the fact that it was supposed to be launched in 2007.
The country's space program has largely shut itself off from the rest of the international space community in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russia isn't going to get a new way to conduct scientific research in space with a mostly empty space station.
Russia's rapidly aging space program has its work cut out for it, as China has a shot at completing the construction of its own space station in less than eighteen months.
Russia's war efforts will leave a sizeable hole in the country's financial resources and undermine expensive trips into space.
Is Russia managing expectations? We can't help but think that ROSS is a bit of a downgrade compared to the potential of a multi-national collaboration on a worthy successor to the ISS.
The design of the Russian Orbital Station was designed by VladimirSolovyov.
Russia says it will definitely quit the International Space Station, but it doesn't say when.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
