The country may soon start its own space station.
Move on
Russia will soon abandon the aging International Space Station – instead focusing on launching and populating its own space station, according to new reports.
Senior Russian officials have not yet verified the reports, but Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov has announced that Russia may soon decide whether cosmonauts to the space outpost will no longer be worthwhile. The Moscow Times reports.
“We need a technical inspection at the station to avoid any risks in the emergency,” Borisov said. TASS, as translated by The Moscow Times. “We will make a decision based on the results and honestly inform our partners.”
Inspection
The ISS has been continuously occupied for over twenty years now and it is starting to show its age, with occasional leaks requiring cloth and cracked windows.
In December, the US Congress passed a NASA approval bill that would extend the station’s lifespan from 2024 to 2030, despite its deteriorating condition.
Russian space station
The news comes as Russia reportedly draws up plans to launch its own space station, as an independent Russian news agency Interfax reported over the weekend, but the details are still sparse, with reports claiming the station could cost as much as $ 6 billion.
“We have a 2024 deadline agreed with our ISS partners,” reads a press release by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, quoted by Interfax. “After this period, the decision will be made based on the technical condition of the station modules, which have basically worked out their lifespan, as well as our plans to implement a new generation national track station.”
Russia has also previously refused to turn down offers to join NASA’s plans to develop the Gateway, a small space station around the moon. Instead, Russia chose to cooperate with China and signed an agreement to build an “International Scientific Lunar Station” in March around the lunar orbit.
READ MORE: Russia will cease space station in 2025 – Reports [The Moscow Times]
More about Russia’s space efforts: Russia plans to make a lunar landing later this year
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