As it builds its “orbital complex”, Russia is preparing to leave the International Space Station

Just a year ago, somehow anticipating that international cooperation in space matters would be hampered, Russia announced the decision to withdraw from the Space Station International (ISS), one of the most ambitious multinational space projects in human history.

Russia's plans are to build its own space station and not rely on Americans or Europeans to experiment in Earth orbit. Therefore, Moscow's idea was to announce the farewell that was only going to take place in 2028 or 2030.

But Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated times. Heavy economic sanctions by the United States and many countries around the world made Russian space managers angry. Thus, the director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitri Rogozin, issued an ultimatum to the United States to lift sanctions against civil engineering research companies TSNIimash, and the Progress Rocket Space Center.

“If they block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled exit from its orbit and fall onto the territory of the United States or Europe?” Rogozin's threats did not take effect and the sanctions continued. NASA then issued a statement saying that civil cooperation between the United States and Russia will continue on the space station. “The professional relationship between our international partners, astronauts and cosmonauts continues for the safety and mission of all aboard the ISS,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

For more than two decades, the station has been hailed as a wonder of cooperation between different countries and their respective space agencies. Now, Russia said it will opt out of the project in 2025. As stated, in April 2021 Russia announced its intentions to leave the ISS in 2024 and propel into space its new space structure that was already beginning to design and build, when Rogozin himself taught the new plans for what will be the new orbital complex of his country.

According to the space agency Roscosmos, in April 2021 the first module of its project was already under development at Workshop 439 on Energía, a Russian company that builds rockets and other space instruments. On April 20 of last year, Rogozin wrote on his Twitter account: “The first base module of the new Russian orbital filling station is now operational. Energia Rocket and Space Corporation has been tasked with ensuring its readiness for launch into target orbit in 2025″.

When Russian intentions to create their own space station were made public, Russian Deputy Prime Minister of Defense and Industry Yuri Borisov declared that “they could not risk the lives [of our astronauts].” In addition, Borisov also cited problems in the spatial structure that Roscosmos currently shares with other space agencies. “The situation that today is related to the aging of the structure and metal can have irreversible consequences: a catastrophe. We must not allow that to happen,” added the deputy prime minister.

Originally, the EEI had an expiration date of 2024, but since NASA, with the authorization of the US Congress authorizing the financing of the project, its useful life will end in 2030. Now, with Russia's withdrawal, it is not known whether this date will continue to stand, at the expense of a further increase in the US space budget and its European peers to keep the space laboratory the size of a football field operating in an Earth orbit at an altitude of 400 kilometers.

Russia owns almost half of the ISS and is responsible for navigation and control of the entire spacecraft. Without it, the station would not be able to work since Russian engines are the ones that allow it to take speed and height, so as not to fall to Earth. Russia has repeatedly warned that the station, put into orbit in 1998 and designed to operate for 15 years, would now require a huge injection of money for its maintenance, in order to prevent it from disintegrating into pieces and falling uncontrollably to Earth.

The operation of the International Space Station is complex. While the modules in the United States and Europe provide the electrical energy that solar panels collect and serve to make the orbital complex work, Russia provides the fuel and engines that allow it to remain in orbit and not end up falling uncontrollably to Earth.

ROSS, the new space station

ROSS will operate in a heliosynchronous orbit of 400 km altitude, allowing it to monitor the entire surface of the Earth, especially the Arctic region. This orbit will allow the station to perform two important functions: high-frequency observations of Russia from space and easier access to the station compared to the current ISS, allowing more medical and physiological experiments to be carried out than is currently feasible in the Russian orbital segment.

NEM-1, also known as Science Power Module 1 (SPM-1), will be the core module of ROSS. Initially intended to be launched on the International Space Station in 2024, NEM-1 will undergo a 1.5- to 2-year redesign to prepare for its new role as part of ROSS. NEM-1 is scheduled to be launched in 2025 on an Angara A5 launch vehicle from Vostochny Cosmodrome and the new Core module (similar to NEM-1) is scheduled to launch in 2028.

Diego Bagú, astronomer and director of the Planetarium of La Plata, explained to Infobae what this new path Russia chose in space matters means.

“Russia has multiplied several space projects in recent years, with either four versions of the new ROSS space station and the new Oryol spacecraft they are planning. This complicates their work. The theme of having its own space station was born in 2014, at the beginning of its conflict with Ukraine. And considering that this was going to lead to conflicts with the West, particularly with the United States and with the work ahead on the International Space Station, Russia began to concentrate on thinking about building a space station of its own. The reality is that they didn't make much progress in that direction,” said Bagú.

He added: “To all this we must add that the current ERA has an expiration date for 2028 or 2030. Russia has had some alternatives for its own space station. One idea was to decouple the Russian space modules that are now part of the ISS. And from them build their own space station. The last thing that is known is that he is going to build a completely new station. This would involve launching 4 modules of 20 tons each. In other words, not only do they have to be built, but they must also be launched, with the difficulty that comes with it and the high cost involved”.

Bagu said that Russia also abandoned plans to integrate the Gateway, an international space station on the Moon. “And it is abandoning its lunar program, unlike the US, which is totally focused on returning to the moon,” the astronomer said.

According to Russian officials, there is no longer any reason to rely on cooperation with foreigners. Russia, with its extensive experience in the construction of such structures, is more than capable of developing a space station on its own. The unsustainability of the ISS has long been a topic in Russian space news. It is well known that the Russian segment, was experiencing a number of problems, including minor failures of all conceivable devices, from toilets to life support systems. These problems finally came to a head when, in 2020, an air leak was discovered, which extracted the valuable atmosphere from the station at an alarming rate. The source of the leak evaded detection for several months. Detecting and fixing it took quite a bit of effort.

Then, in April 2021, three other minor cracks were discovered. While these were relatively easy to fix, it became clear that their source, metal fatigue, is becoming a serious problem. In addition to these problems, other stronger reasons drive Russian independence from the ISS.

According to Alexander Bloshenko, Executive Director of Roscosmos for Advanced Programs and Science, the current orbit of the ISS, and in particular its inclination, has been exhausted in terms of scientific potential. Bloshenko stated that the intensity of progress work in the ISS is reduced and, from this inclination, maximum knowledge has already been gained.

That is why the Russians are thinking of placing ROSS in a polar orbit, which from Roscosmos's point of view has a number of advantages:

1-You can duplicate and secure the capabilities of remote sensing spacecraft such as those monitoring the North Sea Route.

2-In an orbit of greater inclination, the external cosmic radiation is stronger. Flights under such conditions, according to Roscosmos, will better prepare cosmonauts for missions in deep space. For this reason, the ROSS will launch into a high-latitude orbit with an inclination of 97 degrees at an altitude of 300-350 km. From ROSS, cosmonauts can see the entire territory of Russia, unlike the ISS from which they can only see 20% of it.

3-ROSS will be a specialized industrial space station with production compartments that will allow it to perform a number of new tasks that are not available in the ISS. In the second stage of assembly, the ROSS will include a so-called ramp module, in which it will be possible to park various types of spacecraft and automatic satellites, repair them, refuel them, adjust the payload, and then send them back to autonomous flight. In addition, after a while, Roscosmos plans to create a fleet of tugs that will be able to launch these satellites from the station into the right orbit at the right time.

Officials plan to launch ROSS in two stages. For the first stage, the station will consist of four modules: NEM (expected launch date — 2025), UM (the new node module, similar to the one to be launched at ISS), the Base Module (expected launch date — 2028), and the Airlock Module. The pressurized volume of the station at this stage will be 220 m 3; the Russian segment of the ISS now, without MLM Nauka, has a pressurized volume of 189 m 3.

The crew of the station will consist of two people with a duration of about two months. Teams will not stay at ROSS permanently as is the case today in the ISS, but will arrive as tasks accumulate for them.

The second phase of construction, which according to Vladimir Solovyov is planned for 2030-2035, will add the Purpose Logistics and Production Modules to the station, as well as a tiered platform for servicing spacecraft. The pressurized volume of the station at this stage will increase to 450 m 3, and it will be able to store up to 9,100 kg of fuel (N 2 O 4 /UDMH), accommodate a maximum crew of four, and will receive one or two with crew and one to three freighters per year.

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