Russia hustles to fill impending void left by the ISS
- Reference: 1698423852
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/10/27/russian_space_station_plans/
- Source link:
Moscow mouthpiece TASS [1]reported the move, and lurking within the grandstanding about space station ambitions was an admission of how much Russia's human spaceflight program still depends on the International Space Station (ISS).
Roscosmos boss Yuri Borisov said the funds have been allocated and the green light given to start work on the project. This is convenient because the prospects for Russian human spaceflight will start to look bleak once the ISS hurtles back to Earth around 2030.
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According to TASS, Borisov said that ensuring the continuity of Russia's program was a "pressing task" and he added that there was a genuine risk of a situation where "the ISS is no longer there, and the Russian station is not yet there."
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Considering the lengthy delays associated with space programs, the timelines are ambitious. The first component – the scientific and energy module – is supposedly planned for late 2027 and will be followed by others between 2028 and 2030.
[5]Spacewalk turns into spacework as cosmonauts grapple with ISS leak
[6]Brits sign Axiom Space deal for human spaceflight in name of science
[7]Russian Nauka module plays leak-a-boo with International Space Station
[8]Bids for ISS demolition rights are now open, NASA declares
The plan calls for the first crew to be launched six months after the first module launch.
Following its impressive early start, Russia's flagship space program has looked increasingly tired in recent years, not helped by its abrupt isolation following the country's invasion of Ukraine. China has its own space station, to which the latest crew docked yesterday, and NASA is looking beyond the ISS to the Moon alongside partners such as the European Space Agency.
Russia, on the other hand, has a scorch mark on the Moon where its latest lander, [9]Luna 25 , tried and failed to make a soft landing. The country's reputation for space hardware has also taken a battering thanks to repeated issues and leaks onboard the ISS.
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According to the timelines reported by TASS, Russia intends to construct, test, and launch the first element of its space station in four years. Hopefully, with a puncture repair kit on board. ®
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[1] https://tass.com/science/1697645
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZTwzCZtfU9Va8YCrY0X4mAAAARA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTwzCZtfU9Va8YCrY0X4mAAAARA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/26/spacewalking_cosmonauts_find_iss_leak/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/25/brits_in_space_agreement_signed/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/10/10/iss_nauka_leak/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/27/nasa_deorbit_iss_bids/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/21/russia_moon_mission_luna25_fails/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZTwzCZtfU9Va8YCrY0X4mAAAARA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a project to build an Orbital Station
is as guests on a Chinese space station.
More like housekeeping staff.
Re: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a project to build an Orbital Station
Russia is still earning boatloads of money with its oil and gas. Too bad they can't spend it in the West, though. This means it will become ten times more expensive for them to get access to Western tech, which will make it infeasible for them to build their own space station.
BTW Russia spends a sizeable amount of its GDP on its space program, but most of it is embezzled or stolen. Putin can't do anything about it since cracking down on the culprits could alienate the cronies that keep him in power.
The few breadcrumbs that are left are insufficient to keep their space program alive. In the end, all they'll have left are the memories of their glorious past.
Re: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a project to build an Orbital Station
I fail to see how Putin's Russia can do this as Russia is an economically declining state soon to be overtaken by Brazil in GDP terms.
He might have a chance if he shamelessly copies [1]western IP .
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2009/07/30/reg_space_mission/
Antsy
The plan calls for the first crew to be launched six months after the first module launch.
I wonder if the crew is going to feel antsy if the drunken space commander types in coordinates of Kyiv rather than the ISS.
Re: Antsy
IMO more likely the "first module" will end up in Kyiv.
Once upon a time
Russia planned to have a "power tower" module on the ISS, but in the end it never launched and they're wired into the NASA side instead. If they've still got bits of it in storage like they did for Nauka then it might actually get launched nearly on schedule.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a project to build an Orbital Station
I fail to see how Putin's Russia can do this as Russia is an economically declining state soon to be overtaken by Brazil in GDP terms. The two major space powers used to be the USA and Soviet Union but now they are the USA and China. Indeed, the only way Putin is going to get cosmonauts on a space station is as guests on a Chinese space station.