Russia “meets” with the United States to extend operations of the International Space Station for two years

Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov announced Russia’s plans to continue participating in the International Space Station program during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. He said that it has been decided to extend the operation of the International Space Station until 2030. It had previously been proposed to complete the operation of the International Space Station in 2028, but Russia will continue to coordinate further actions with international partners.

Image source: Roscosmos

“We have met each other halfway and will extend the work for another two years, but this will not affect the creation time of the Russian orbit [станции] “We parallelized these processes,” – Citing publications “RIA Novosti” Director of Roscosmos. “Our American colleagues have approached us and, starting today, the International Space Station, which consists of two parts – the Russian part and the American part – will extend its operation from 2028 to 2030.”

The continued operation of the International Space Station is considered a separate direction, parallel to the development of the Russian space program. Russia is also preparing its own orbital infrastructure and continues to engage with other space program participants on technical issues. Technical conditions of items required to complete operations of the International Space Station. For example, air leaks at the station have become more frequent with Russia’s Zvezda module, which has been operating for more than 26 years compared to the 15 years it was originally designed to operate.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Bakanov reported on the status of the Russian satellite constellation. according to “News”we are talking about the development of domestic rail infrastructure, including equipment for various purposes. The growth in the number of satellites is due to expansion of communications capabilities, Earth observation and other space services. Today, the head of Roscosmos said that the Russian satellite constellation includes nearly 400 devices, 60 of which were launched this year.

Therefore, the Russian space program will develop in multiple directions simultaneously in the next few years: continuing to participate in international orbital stations, preparing to build new space stations, and increasing the number of domestic satellites. Extending the operation of the International Space Station until 2030 should provide additional operating time for existing infrastructure while transitioning to new projects. There were reports this summer that there might be an agreement with U.S. representatives on the International Space Station, but today this news was announced at an official level for the first time.