Image source: topwar.ru
After the start of the special operation and the introduction by the West of many sanctions against the Russian Federation and Russian companies, as one of the retaliatory measures, the state Corporation for Space Activities Roscosmos almost completely curtailed cooperation with the American NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
In addition, the head of Roscosmos State Corporation, Yuri Borisov, immediately after being appointed to this position in the summer of 2022, announced Russia's decision to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) operation project after 2024. The United States expected that cooperation with the Russian Federation on the ISS would continue at least until 2030. Later, in the spring of last year, it was announced that the participating countries of the ISS program supported the extension of the station's operation after 2024, Russia intends to continue joint operation of the station until 2028.
In May 2022, Roscosmos Group of Companies and RSC Energia signed a contract for 2.69 billion rubles for the development of a draft design of the Russian orbital station (ROC "Creation of a space complex of the Russian orbital station"). The work on the design and construction of the ROS is under the personal control of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is assumed that after 2030, the ISS will be decommissioned and flooded, as previously happened with the Soviet-Russian space station Mir. In this regard, the United States and Europe are already taking steps to create their own orbital station independent of Russian participation, attracting private companies for this purpose.
In the summer of 2021, the Franco-Italian aerospace company Thales Alenia Space, Europe's largest satellite manufacturer, announced the signing of a final contract with the American private corporation, the developer of the space infrastructure Axiom Space, for the development of two key hermetic elements of the world's first commercial space station.
Image source: topwar.ru
It is expected that the launch of new modules and docking with the International Space Station will be carried out in 2026, which marks the birth of a new segment of the ISS — the Axiom station. The contract value is 110 million euros, according to a press release on the Thales Alenia Space website.
After the decommissioning of the ISS, the Axiom modules will separate and function as a next-generation commercial space station in free flight. As noted in the press release, these former segments of the ISS, consisting of a laboratory and residential infrastructure, will become the basis for a future autonomous American-European orbital station.
Image source: topwar.ru
Thales Alenia Space showed footage of the pre-assembly of the modules, which will be delivered to Houston after its completion. If the plans are not thwarted, the Crew Dragon spacecraft will deliver the first four participants of the private mission to the ISS. It is assumed that among its participants will be the first astronauts from Saudi Arabia, who are currently undergoing training at the NASA Space Center. Kennedy. After the termination of operation and decommissioning of the ISS, Axiom should become the first private orbital station.