The Russian Space Agency has unveiled a physical model of what a proposed Russian-built space station will look like, suggesting Moscow is serious about abandoning the International Space Station (ISS) and going it alone.
Russia wants to reduce its dependence on Western countries and move forward on its own or cooperate with countries like China and Iran after the West imposed sanctions over Ukraine’s invasion.
Roscosmos unveiled a model of the space station, nicknamed “Ross” by Russian state media, at a military-industrial exhibition outside Moscow on Monday.
Yuri Borisov, who President Vladimir Putin appointed to head Roscosmos last month, said Russia will leave the ISS after 2024 and is working on developing its own orbital station.
Launched in 1998, the ISS has been continuously manned since November 2000 under a US-Russia-led partnership that also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.
Nasa, which plans to keep the ISS operational until 2030, says it has not yet received official confirmation of Russia’s planned withdrawal, having previously understood that Moscow will continue to participate until 2028.
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Roscosmos said its space station will be launched in two phases, without giving dates.
For the first phase, a space station with four modules would go into operation. After that, two more modules and a service platform would follow, it said. When completed, this would be sufficient to accommodate up to four cosmonauts and scientific equipment.
Roscosmos said the station would give Russian cosmonauts a much broader view to monitor Earth than their current segment.
Although designs exist for some of the stations, design work for other segments is still ongoing.
Russian state media have suggested that the launch of the first phase is scheduled for 2025-26 and no later than 2030. The launch of the second and final phase is scheduled for 2030-35, they have reported.
The space station as currently designed would not have a constant human presence but would be manned twice a year for extended periods.
Dmitry Rogozin, the former head of Roscosmos and a hardliner known for his tough statements against the West, has suggested that the new space station could serve a military purpose if necessary.