For years, Russian officials talked up plans for a brand new, high-tech space station that would carry the country into a proud post-ISS future. It was supposed to be sleek, modern, and uniquely Russian. Now, in a twist that surprised even seasoned space watchers, Russia has revealed that its next space station will largely be made from recycled parts of the International Space Station itself, as reported by Ars Technica.
The original plan centered on the Russian Orbital Station, or ROS. The first modules were expected to launch in 2027, with cosmonauts moving in by 2028. By the mid-2030s, the station would feature seven new modules, advanced autonomy, and even a potential private habitat for space tourists. One of its most symbolic features was a planned polar orbit, allowing it to pass over all of Russia and enabling launches from the Vostochny Cosmodrome instead of Kazakhstan’s Baikonur site.
That vision quietly collapsed this week. Oleg Orlov, a senior official at Russia’s Institute of Biomedical Problems, disclosed that ROS will no longer be built from scratch. Instead, its core will consist of the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Roscosmos has approved the plan, meaning that rather than launching a new station, Russia will detach its existing ISS modules and continue flying them independently.
This also explains a recent change in orbital plans. Officials confirmed the station will now fly at a 51.6-degree inclination, the same as the ISS, instead of the previously proposed polar orbit. That makes it reachable from Baikonur but undercuts years of messaging about independence, national coverage, and the strategic importance of Vostochny.
Under the current plan, around 2030 the Russian segment will separate from the ISS, while the US-led portion is deorbited in a controlled reentry, likely handled by SpaceX. Russia’s modules, some of which will have spent more than 30 years in orbit by then, will simply keep going.
Not everyone in Russia is impressed. Critics have pointed out that the ISS’s Russian modules are already showing their age, with known issues including cracks, air leaks, and long-standing concerns about bacteria and fungi buildup. Ironically, some of those same risks were cited a few years ago by Orlov himself when arguing for funding a completely new station. Russian cosmonauts already spend roughly half their time on maintenance, leaving limited room for meaningful research.
The contrast with the rest of the world is stark. China is operating its modern Tiangong space station. NASA is backing multiple private orbital stations. India is planning its own outpost. Russia, meanwhile, appears set to inherit the aging legacy of the ISS, complete with its technical problems and shrinking ambitions.
The decision is widely seen as a cost-saving move. With Russia’s economy under strain, ROS increasingly looked like a paper project rather than a real one. Still, basing a “new” national space station on decades-old hardware is a choice that even longtime observers find remarkable.
Russian officials have tried to frame the shift positively, suggesting that sharing an orbit with a future Indian station could enable cooperation. For many critics, that explanation feels thin. In the end, Russia’s next space station may not symbolize renewal or progress, but rather a familiar pattern of making do with what already exists and calling it a new beginning.
