Russia unveils model of its new planned space station

In a major development, the Roscosmos released a physical model of its planned space station just shortly after the head of the Russian space agency announced plans to end the country's joint operation with the west on the International Space Station by 2024. The models show that Moscow's efforts to travel alone in zero gravity are progressing rapidly.

 

 

 

The most recent development also suggests that Russia is moving on with its plans to leave the space alliance it has with the US, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. Instead, Moscow is following China's lead and constructing its own flying laboratory in Earth's orbit.

 

 

A mockup of the future space station, known as "ROSS," was displayed by Roscosmos during the "Army-2022" military-industrial expo held outside of Moscow.

 

In a statement, Roscosmos stated that the new space station would be launched in two parts, with the first phase seeing the start of operations and scientific research on a four-module space station. When finished, it will be able to house up to four cosmonauts as well as scientific equipment. This will be accompanied by two further modules and a service platform.

 

Russian engineering prowess is evident in the space station blueprints, especially in light of the country's extensive experience living and working on the International Space Station (ISS). According to state-run Russian media, the first stage's launch is anticipated to occur between 2025 and 2026 and no later than 2030. According to them, the second and final stage's launch is scheduled for 2030–35.

 

Russian cosmonauts would get a significantly wider view of the Earth from the new station than they do from their existing portion, according to Roscosmos. According to reports, unlike the International Space Station (ISS), the Russian station will only be manned twice a year for extended durations.