The new Russian space station, designed to replace the International Space Station (ISS), will be able to stay in low-Earth orbit forever, Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"We want to make the architecture open, when one module that has exhausted its resource can be replaced by another. In fact, this station can stay in orbit forever, gradually and rhythmically changing its spent elements, " the head of the state corporation said.
Rogozin compared the new Russian station to the Picatinny rail. "The station will be a platform that will carry a huge load of devices and apparatuses. And these vehicles will not need their own solar panels, engines to adjust their orbits. This task will be performed by the station itself, "the head of Roscosmos explained.
In April, Rogozin said that the state corporation, after withdrawing from the ISS project, allows the transfer of the Russian segment of the orbital laboratory to NASA. According to the CEO, the Russian segment of the station is worn out by 80 percent, and its maintenance "will require approximately the same funds that will be needed from 2025 for the deployment of a separate national Russian orbital station."
Ivan Potapov