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Russia to rework ISS research and power module for new national orbital station

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov’s office announced on April 18 that the International Space Station’s condition left much to be desired

© Mark Garcia/NASA

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russia will transform its research and power unit developed for the International Space Station (ISS) into a module for a new national orbital station, Roscosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin announced on Wednesday.

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"We are planning to start with the groundwork we have laid. The research and power module will be reworked," the Roscosmos chief said.

Using the research and power unit as the basic module for a new orbital outpost where greater autonomous operation will be required is incomparable with the module’s use aboard the ISS, Rogozin added.

The Roscosmos chief said on April 20 that Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation had been assigned the task of making the first basic module for a new Russian orbital station ready in 2025. Work on it is already underway, he said. Rogozin also posted a video of the first module under construction: this will be a research and power unit that was previously intended for launch to the International Space Station in 2024.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov’s office announced on April 18 that the space station’s condition left much to be desired. In order to avoid any risks in case of accidents, it was necessary to carry out a technical inspection of the station. After this, a decision should be made on the orbital outpost’s further operation. Also, Borisov said in an interview with the 'Moscow. Kremlin. Putin' program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel that Russia might quit the ISS project in 2025.

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