Russia Will Quit International Space Station Over Sanctions

[Elderberry]

Bloomberg With assistance by Nicholas Larkin 4/30/2022

•   Russia space agency head says partners to get 12 months notice

•   Agency had earlier this month threated to end ISS missions

The head of Russia’s space program said Moscow will pull out of the International Space Station, state media reported, a move it has blamed on sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine.

“The decision has been taken already, we’re not obliged to talk about it publicly,” Tass and RIA Novosti reported Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin as saying in an interview with state TV on Saturday. “I can say this only -- in accordance with our obligations, we’ll inform our partners about the end of our work on the ISS with a year’s notice.”

Rogozin earlier this month threatened to end Russia’s mission unless the U.S., European Union and Canada lifted sanctions against enterprises involved in the Russian space industry.

More: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-30/russia-will-quit-international-space-station-over-sanctions

[DefiantMassRINO]

Eh

[Fishrrman]

So... if the Russians go through with this... what does it mean for THE REST OF the Space Station...?

[Elderberry]

So... if the Russians go through with this... what does it mean for THE REST OF the Space Station...?

Could the International Space Station survive without Russia?

https://qz.com/2140396/how-the-iss-could-stay-in-orbit-without-russia

If Russia declined to participate in the ISS and went so far as to unhook its modules, could the rest of the nations involved keep the station in orbit? The answer is yes, but it might take time, money, and effort. The US provides electricity and stability control, while Russian spacecraft regularly push the station up to its target orbit when it drifts lower. Replacing that function would be the top priority for any effort to maintain the station without Russia.

Musk has said that SpaceX will provide "Station-Keeping" if Russia pulls out.

[Elderberry]

Russian Orbital Segment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orbital_Segment

The Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) is the name given to the components of the International Space Station (ISS) constructed in Russia and operated by the Russian Roscosmos. The ROS handles Guidance, Navigation, and Control for the entire Station.

The segment currently consists of six modules, which together essentially comprise the base configuration of the cancelled Russian space station Mir-2.[2] The segment is controlled directly from Roskosmos's Mission Control Center in Moscow. The six modules are (in order of launch):

•   Zarya (dawn)

•   Zvezda (star)

•   Poisk (search)

•   Rassvet (sunrise, dawn)

•   Nauka (science)

•   Prichal (berth)

The first module, Zarya, otherwise known as the Functional Cargo Block or FGB, was the first component of the ISS to be launched, and provided the early station configuration with electrical power, storage, propulsion, and navigation guidance, until a short time after the Russian service module Zvezda docked and was transferred control. Zvezda contains the ESA built DMS-R Data Management System.[3] Now primarily used for storage, Zarya provides ports for Soyuz spacecraft, Progress (spacecraft) and the European ATV to dock to the station. Ships boosting the station's orbit dock to the aft port (the rear port according to the station's normal orientation and direction of travel). The FGB is a descendant of the TKS spacecraft designed for the Russian Salyut program. 5.4 tons of propellant fuel can be stored and transferred automatically to and from ships docked. Zarya was originally intended as a module for the Russian Mir space station,[citation needed] but was not flown as of the end of the Mir-1 program. Developed by Russia and the former Soviet Union, construction of Zarya was funded by the United States and NASA,[4] and Zarya remains a US-owned module.[5]

The second module, Zvezda, is the station's Service Module - it provides a living environment for the crew, contains the ISS's main engine system, and provides a docking port for Soyuz, Progress and Automated Transfer Vehicle spacecraft.[6]

The fourth module to be launched, Poisk, is similar to Pirs. Redundancy in airlocks allowed one airlock to be repaired internally and externally whilst crew use the other airlock to exit and re-enter the station.

The fifth module to be launched, Rassvet, is primarily used for cargo storage and as a docking port for visiting spacecraft.

The sixth module to be launched, Nauka, also known as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module, is the main laboratory space of the ROS. A backup flight article for FGB-based Zarya, known in production as FGB-2, was originally planned to serve as the Universal Docking Module, though its construction had been halted at 70% completion in the late 1990s. It occupies the former location of Pirs on Zvezda's nadir port.

The seventh module to be launched, Prichal also known as Uzlovoy Module is a nodal module that has a pressurized spherical ball-shaped design with six hybrid docking ports. It is attached to the nadir port of the Nauka module.

Former modules

Pirs, launched in 14 September 2001, was the third module of the ROS to be launched. It functioned as the ROS's airlock, storing EVA spacesuits and providing the equipment necessary for cosmonauts to exit the space station. It also served as a docking compartment for Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. It was decommissioned and undocked by Progress MS-16 on 26 July 2021, and burned up in the atmosphere, to make way for the Nauka module.[7]