MOSCOW— A Russian space official on Tuesday raised
concerns about the deteriorating state of Russia's segment of the International
Space Station (ISS) due to out-of-date hardware, warning it could lead to
"irreparable failures".
اضافة اعلان
In recent years, the Russian segment of the
ISS has
experienced a string of problems, including air leaks caused by cracks, raising
questions about the safety of the rotating crews onboard.
"Around 80 percent of the inflight systems on Russia's
segment have reached the end of their service period," Vladimir Solovyov,
chief engineer of the Energia rocket and space corporation, told the RIA
Novosti news agency.
Energia — a manufacturer of spacecraft and space station
components — is the leading developer of Russia's section of the ISS, a joint
venture with the US, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency.
"This means that literally a day after the systems are
fully exhausted, irreparable failures may begin," Solovyov added.
Citing concerns stemming from ageing hardware, Russia had
previously indicated that it plans to leave the ISS after 2025 and launch its
own orbital station.
On Monday, Solovyov said that small cracks had been
discovered on Russia's Zarya cargo module. Launched in 1998, it is one of the
oldest modules of the ISS.
The Russian Zvezda service module meanwhile has experienced
several air leaks, including last month and in 2019.
Also in July, the entire ISS tilted out of orbit after the
thrusters of a new Russian module reignited several hours after docking.
Russia's space program, which was inherited from the Soviet
Union, has also suffered from budget cuts and corruption scandals.
Despite these problems, the country's Roscosmos space agency
continues to promise ambitious ventures, including a mission to Venus and the
creation of a rocket capable of making round trips to
space.
It is also planning to set up a joint lunar station with
China and is scheduled to launch a mission to the moon's surface in May next
year.
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