The space race between the US, Russia, and China is going strong with Russia now reporting that it will be abandoning the International Space Station soon. This doesn’t mean Russia is backing out of the space race. No, They plan to one-up the competition by building their very own space station. How patriotic of them.
Now this news has not been officially verified yet but it sure looks that way. The deputy prime minister Yuri Borisov said that they were considering if sending cosmonauts to the space station is worth it or not. Yuri told The Moscow Times that “We need a technical inspection at the station to avoid any risks in the event of an emergency. We will make a decision based on the results and honestly notify our partners”.
Now, how do we know that Russia wants to abandon the old space station? That’s because reports are coming out that Russia is building its own space station. Reports say that Russia is currently drafting plans and are planning to spend as much as $6 billion on it. This is a pretty good decision as the current space station is getting old. It has to be repaired very frequently and it showing its age with occasional leaks and cracked windows.
Despite this NASA has still extended the station’s life from 2024 to 2030, not a good choice considering the station’s condition.
According to Russian space agency Roscosmos in a press release “We have a 2024 deadline agreed with our ISS partners. After this period, the decision will be made based on the technical condition of the station modules, which have basically worked out their lifespan, as well as our plans to deploy a new generation of national orbital service station”.
Russia is also planning to make an International Scientific Lunar Station with a partnership with China, leaving the US out of the loop. The countries aren’t holding back any punches when it comes to space.