Overview
- Russia’s space agency says its council has endorsed separating the Russian ISS modules—Zarya, Zvezda, Poisk, Rassvet, Nauka, and Prichal—to form the nucleus of the Russian Orbital Station after the ISS is retired around 2030.
- Officials state Russia will keep crews on the ISS through 2028, then detach its segment and later add new modules to expand the standalone station.
- The chosen inclination would enable launches from Plesetsk and Vostochny, reducing reliance on Baikonur, which has recently sustained damage that disrupted flights to the ISS.
- Persistent technical and biological issues in the Russian segment, including a long-running air leak in Zvezda with a rising rate and elevated microbial contamination, have prompted safety and feasibility concerns.
- Domestic commentators have questioned the practicality of recycling decades-old hardware, even as a separate Energia patent for a future rotating, artificial-gravity station signals longer-term ambitions with no funding or timeline attached.