As Moscow presses ahead with plans to leave the project and launch its own station, the International Space Station (ISS) is unsafe and unsuitable for its intended function, according to a warning issued by Russia’s space chief on Thursday.
The 24-year-old station’s crew safety is at risk because of widespread technical failures and aging components, according to Yuri Borisov, president of the Roscosmos agency.
The International Space Station (ISS) has been a rare example of cooperation even while diplomatic relations between the two nations worsened. But since it invaded Ukraine in February and the imposition of harsh Western sanctions, Russia has grown more determined to leave Earth’s orbit and launch its own space station beyond 2024.
Borisov said, “Technically, the ISS has exceeded all its warranty periods. This is dangerous. An avalanche-like process of equipment failure is beginning, cracks are appearing.”
According to him, Russia’s station would orbit the planet around the poles, allowing it to observe a larger portion of its vast territory and collect fresh information on cosmic radiation.
The United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and 11 European countries have been working together to occupy the International Space Station (ISS) continuously since November 2000. The ISS was launched in 1998. The American space agency, NASA wants to carry on using it till 2030.
Borisov showed a model of the Russian station last month; on Thursday, he stated the station would be available to collaboration with “friendly countries.” Former Deputy Prime Minister Borisov, who has a background in defense, claimed that Western restrictions on Russia’s space industry had destroyed any chance of future cooperation.
He specifically mentioned the European Space Agency’s decision to abandon its partnership with Russia on the ExoMars rover, which will eventually search for life on Mars.
A tremendous amount of time and money was invested in it… but politics stepped in, and what happened as a result? It’s wrong, it shouldn’t be this way, remarked Borisov.
Russia is now looking to work with China and other “friendly” nations. Borisov stated that Russia was specifically “looking at ways to communicate with our closest friends, first and foremost China,” to coordinate efforts to explore the moon and deep space.