The main stage of the assembly of the design of the first module of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) has been completed. Its electrical tests will begin in a year, this was announced by Vladimir Solovyov, General Designer for manned systems and complexes, General Designer of RSC Energia. He also spoke about the maximum duration of future manned expeditions to the ROS and the flight schedule of cargo ships.
We are talking about the scientific and energy module (NEM), follows from Vladimir Solovyov's presentation at the general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). According to him, the design has already been created "in metal".
According to the general schedule approved on July 2 of this year, the NEM module will go into low—Earth orbit first - its launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2027. Further, in 2027, the universal node and gateway modules will join it, and at the end of 2029 — the basic one. These modules, together with the NEM, will form the "core" of the station. This will complete the first stage of the construction of the ROS. At the second stage, in 2032, the complex will be expanded with two more target modules.
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The General Designer also spoke about the launches of the upgraded Progress-ROS cargo transport ships to the future station. Judging by the slide presented in the report, the first ten launches will be carried out from the Baikonur cosmodrome, and the subsequent ones from the Eastern One (in the approved general schedule, it is planned to launch three Progress—ROS from Baikonur in 2028 and four in 2029, and starting from 2030 - from the Eastern One to three annually).
As for manned flights to ROS, according to Solovyov, they will last no more than 11 months, while expeditions to the International Space Station (ISS) can last up to a year or more. This is due to the higher dose of radiation that an astronaut can receive when flying in a polar orbit with an inclination of 96.8 degrees, on which the Russian orbital station will operate.
Solovyov notes that in a stable radiation environment during an 11-month flight, the maximum radiation levels in polar orbit will not exceed the permissible values for the crew of 500 millisieverts per year. During powerful solar flares, the radiation level will increase by about 10 times compared to the dose received in the ISS orbit. However, even in the worst case, it will not exceed 100 millisieverts, which is two thirds of the permissible level for a single acute exposure.
On July 2, the General director of the Roscosmos State Corporation, Yuri Borisov, approved the general schedule for the creation of the ROS. According to him, 608.9 billion rubles have been allocated for the development and launch of the station. Most of the time, the orbital complex will operate autonomously. Astronauts will visit it for a short time to connect and configure new equipment, carry out maintenance and repair of on-board systems, as well as to conduct scientific experiments and deliver their results to Earth.
Earlier, Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Deputy General Designer of RSC Energia, chief designer of ROS, said that a robotic arm is being created for the Russian orbital station, which will allow astronauts to carry out various operations overboard, without astronauts going into outer space, as is done on the ISS. In addition, cosmonauts have already been identified, who will soon begin preparations for the first flight to the future space complex.
Rita Tityanechko
