Russia says it will leave the ISS and launch its own space station

midian182

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Why it matters: The US and Russia's relationship has had some tense moments over the last couple of decades, including the annexation of Crimea in 2014. However, there has been one area where the two superpowers have continually worked together: the International Space Station (ISS). But it looks as if that cooperation is coming to an end.

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, said that the country would abandon the ISS and launch its own space station into orbit by 2030 if Vladimir Putin gives the go-ahead.

Since launching in 1998, Russian cosmonauts have worked alongside astronauts from the US and many other countries onboard the ISS. Roscosmos says its agreement with international partners runs out in 2024, at which point a decision on the ISS' future will be made on the condition of its technical modules, which have "reached the end of their service life," and on Russia's plans for its own orbital service station, reports the BBC.

"We can't risk the lives [of our cosmonauts]. The situation that today is connected to the structure and the metal getting old, it can lead to irreversible consequences - to catastrophe. We mustn't let that happen," said Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who added that Moscow would give notice to its partners that it would leave the ISS project from 2025.

In a video message on Telegram, Roscosmos said that "the first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works."

Roscosmos said its station would not be permanently crewed, unlike the ISS, as the orbit path expose's it to higher radiation. It will use AI and robots, though cosmonauts will visit. And while Russia will consider allowing foreign crews on board, "the station must be national […] If you want to do well, do it yourself."

Russia said back in 2015 that it would depart the ISS and focus on building its own station once 2024 arrived. But the recent announcement comes at a time of heightened tensions between the country and the west: US ambassador John Sullivan is set to return home from Russia after Moscow "recommended" he leaves temporarily; the build-up of troops near Ukraine's eastern border caused concern; and the world is watching the treatment of Putin critic Alexei Navalny, who has been on hunger strike for weeks.

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All this nonsense will likely be forgotten 1 year from now. But for now, amidst rising tensions over Ukraine, I'm expecting next a Russian-made time-travel machine with supercapacitor.
 
Well, so far, the theory that if you throw loads of money at it the problem will go away.
Bit like my old car.
 
Not only that, but the Obama administration also created the coronavirus, was responsible for the last three Nickelback albums, and invented Olestra.
Yes, it's a conspiracy theory so wild that it's been endorsed by three astronauts that walked on the moon:


"When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding...the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating."
-Neil Armstrong

Do some cursory research before you mouth off.
 
I'm sure the nigh-schizophrenic treatment they get from the US government might have something to do with it.
True. These days, it seems like you can hardly poison dissidents and entire hotels with radioactive isotopes, invade your neighboring countries, imprison political rivals and interfere in US elections without Washington getting all pissy about it.
 
"When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding...the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating."
-Neil Armstrong

Do some cursory research before you mouth off.
Obama canceled failing programs that were over budget, which was bad. Had he not canceled them and they’d continued failing to deliver while burning billions, he’d also still be bad. Obama’s just the source of everything bad that has ever happened.

Meanwhile you overlooked Orion’s problems, which I’m sure was a good faith oversight and not a deliberate one.
 
True. These days, it seems like you can hardly poison dissidents and entire hotels with radioactive isotopes, invade your neighboring countries, imprison political rivals and interfere in US elections without Washington getting all pissy about it.
Considering we went, in 2012, from Barack Obama criticizing Romney for being paranoid about the Russians, and that the 'Cold War was over,' to Hillary all but calling for a nuclear war against Russia during the 2016 campaign, to Trump's long-running love affair with the Kremlin, back to a war-mongering stance with Biden... where's the misinformation? From Russia's perspective we're ruled by madmen, and frankly, I wouldn't disagree.
 
Obama canceled failing programs that were over budget, which was bad. Had he not canceled them and they’d continued failing to deliver while burning billions, he’d also still be bad. Obama’s just the source of everything bad that has ever happened.
He canceled them without offering any possibility of a replacement outside of some hopium that commercial vehicles would "someday" be ready to pick up the slack. As of this year SpaceX is still struggling to keep its rockets from blowing themselves apart, and we're hitching a ride with aging Soyuz platforms.
 
Considering the Obama administration made us completely reliant on Russian launches to get to and from the station,
Yeah, an abundance of new social entitlements during his administration and the cost of launch vehicles, didn't seem to mix well.
SpaceX can consistently launch a rocket that will also come back in one piece.
Oh, I don't know, Space-X's stuff seems to either blow up on the pad, or go the distance. Musk's obsession with reusable boosters is the real fly in the ointment
 
He canceled them without offering any possibility of a replacement outside of some hopium that commercial vehicles would "someday" be ready to pick up the slack. As of this year SpaceX is still struggling to keep its rockets from blowing themselves apart, and we're hitching a ride with aging Soyuz platforms.
You know SpaceX has already flown a crewed mission to the ISS, right? With a modern vehicle that can autonomously dock.

We will be fine without Kruschchev-era Soviet junk.

President Obama put faith in American innovation and it has delivered.
 
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Democracy is a difficult thing for hardened KGB veterans like Putin to understand. Kinda like individual rights, national sovereignty, free speech, journalistic freedom, the open internet, etc.
It's increasingly a difficult thing for the US government to understand as well. The CIA has arguably become more sinister than the KGB ever was.

You know SpaceX has already flown a crewed mission to the ISS, right? With a modern vehicle that can autonomously dock.

We will be fine without Kruschchev-era Soviet junk.
I guess we'll see tomorrow afternoon.

 
Sorry that you don’t believe in America; I still do.

Anyone who has bet against the US’s ability to deliver world class innovation has lost that bet. The same will be true in space travel as well.

I’m grateful that president Obama has the foresight to trust American innovation rather than throw good money after bad in failing projects that never delivered a successful flight.
 
From Russia's perspective we're ruled by madmen, and frankly, I wouldn't disagree.
The only perspective that matters in Russia is that of the government. They have entire departments dedicated to mining foreign news and spinning it as appropriate (1) for internal consumption; largely captive even today via the language and other barriers and (2) for foreign consumption.

A key theme of both is Russia as the victim of endless conspiracies. This is direct carry-over from Soviet-era propaganda, led by the same pros. You're buying their "badminton birdie" story, which is probably back in play now - as has been noted - as setup for a border dispute power grab.
 
Sorry that you don’t believe in America; I still do.

Anyone who has bet against the US’s ability to deliver world class innovation has lost that bet. The same will be true in space travel as well.

I’m grateful that president Obama has the foresight to trust American innovation rather than throw good money after bad in failing projects that never delivered a successful flight.
What I don't believe in is our dysfunctional federal government. Obama's decision to basically axe the space program before any one commercial replacement was remotely near ready was disastrous and the inconstant dithering since then, equally so. It only gets more heinous when you take into consideration what the government has chosen to prioritize in the intervening years.
 
Obama “axed” a bunch of stuff that was behind schedule and never successfully flew, in favor of a program that has successfully delivered personnel to the ISS.

I’m old enough to remember when Republicans supported axing wasteful spending. Guess that makes me middle aged. :p
 
Yes, it's a conspiracy theory so wild that it's been endorsed by three astronauts that walked on the moon:


"When President Obama recently released his budget for NASA, he proposed a slight increase in total funding...the accompanying decision to cancel the Constellation program, its Ares 1 and Ares V rockets, and the Orion spacecraft, is devastating."
-Neil Armstrong

Do some cursory research before you mouth off.
Man who shoved the stick up your arse this morning? Chill man, it was pretty clearly a joke.
You know SpaceX has already flown a crewed mission to the ISS, right? With a modern vehicle that can autonomously dock.

We will be fine without Kruschchev-era Soviet junk.

President Obama put faith in American innovation and it has delivered.
A single mission, yes. They also had a recent failure that out things on hold again. Meanwhile were currently still reliant on Russia for supply missions and new equipment.

I wouldn't dismiss russia. They technically won the space race after all. We won the moon race. Theyre also the only country to have actively armed a space station before.
 
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