According to Russia, the International Space Station ISS could also serve as a stopover for spaceships on long flights into space. “It’s impossible to get into deep space without having to walk down the stairs in the form of a near-Earth station,” Roscosmos aerospace general Dmitry Rogozin said Monday, according to Interfax agency. The Russian segment of the ISS could be expanded with new modules so that other countries such as India can dock.
The US is planning its own space station between Earth and Moon, which could one day also serve as a stopover for flights to the Moon and Mars. Russia also wanted to participate in the project. Rogozin now said that they are interested in an international base on the lunar surface. “We are not concentrating on the orbit of the Moon.” Roskosmos and the Russian Academy of Sciences are already researching for such manned missions.
Operation until now only until 2024 secured
Rogozin made it clear that his country would cling to the space station even if the Americans got out of the multi-billion dollar project. “We believe we can keep the station.” Russia has the technical and technological capabilities to keep the ISS flying around the earth.
So far the operation of the room laboratory is secured until 2024. It is over 20 years old. International cooperation could also be extended for a few years. The government of US President Donald Trump last wanted to promote privatization of the station.
Total cost: a good 100 billion dollars
Critics like to call the ISS the most expensive building in the world – the total cost since 1998 is estimated at well over 100 billion US dollars (over 87 billion euros). ISS members cover the exact expenditure. The main donors are Russia and the USA. More than $ 3 billion is reportedly spent by the United States alone every year.
The European Space Agency (ESA) claims that it has invested € 10 billion in ISS, including € 4 billion in development and six in ISS operations between 2008 and 2018. The largest donor countries for the station are Germany, Italy, and the US France.
Most components come from the US and Russia
The International Space Station was assembled 20 years ago in 400 kilometers height piece by piece. Since then, she has been racing through space at a whopping 28,000 kilometers per hour, taking just 92 minutes to orbit the Earth once. As big as a soccer field, the ISS houses a research laboratory as well as living and working modules. Most components come from the US and Russia.
