Just days after it was revealed that NASA downplayed the Russian module Nauka incident and that the accidental thruster firing took the International Space Station on a full 540-degree spin and triggered a spacecraft emergency, Russian space agency Roscosmos and NASA spoke about their plans to build new space stations. Both seem to agree that the ISS will suffer cascading errors and malfunctions and be a safety risk by 2024 if not updated. The first component of the ISS was launched in 1998 and the space station became habitable in 2000, creating collaboration after the US, Russia space race. US and Russia run the two largest segments of the ISS with help from Japan's JAXA, the ESA, and Canada's CSA. Private companies like SpaceX have begun to participate as well, though on a much more limited basis.
The Nauka module at the center of the latest ISS incident is Russia’s attempt to extend the life of the ISS for several more years. Nauka suffered over a decade of delays and setbacks, both technical and financial. Nauku’s trip to the ISS was also filled with problems, including software glitches that lead to several remote course corrections and the ignition of its backup thrusters. Once the module docked with the ISS, software glitches commanded thrusters to execute a backflip maneuver, taking the ISS for a wild spin. NASA flight control spent the next 15 long minutes engaging counter thruster burns to level out the ISS until the Russian module ran out of fuel and stopped.
Just days after the incident Roscosmos released details on its Russian Orbital Service Station ROSS and NASA spoke to the press about their Comercial Low Earth Orbit Development CLD program. Both programs are plans to build new space stations open to commercial activities. At this early stage, there is no confirmation that the two countries will work together in any significant way, or if either space agency will try to extend the life of the ISS while also pursuing new ventures. The one thing that is certain is that both space agencies agree that the ISS will not make it past 2024 without posing major safety risks and suffering malfunctions. While NASA focuses on deep space exploration, an ISS is considered vital for future missions to the Moon, Mars, and other planets.
2024 Make Or Break: The Future Of The ISS
Extending the life of the ISS will require significant investment. By 2028 the ISS will be 30 years old and have outlived its intended lifespan by 13 years. Exposed to microgravity, ionizing radiation, extreme temperature changes, micrometeoroids, and orbital debris, the station has suffered already endured a lot. Leaks have plagued the ISS for years, and the Russian side of the station has been plagued by them in recent years. While none of the leaks, cracks, and fissures are reported to pose threat to astronauts, they're symptoms of the spacecraft's advanced age. Resupply missions and new rockets traveling to the ISS like Boeing’s Starliner have also been plagued with problems lately.
Relationships between Russia and the US have been tense and this hostility has spilled over into their respective space programs. During the COVID-19 crisis, Russia threatened to withdraw from the ISS if the US did not lift the sanctions which banned imports on microchips that were needed for their space program. NASA was dependent on Russian rockets to send its astronauts into space prior to the success of SpaceX's Crew Dragon, which now allows for more independence on the part of NASA and its partners. Today, agencies are debating and shaping the future of the ISS, and the future of continual human presence in space. If the ISS is retired from operations, NASA has considered the option of executing a deorbit burn into Earth’s atmosphere that will result in controlled destruction of the station. Despite the tensions and the push for new space stations plans, Roscosmos and NASA’s top representatives have assured that they will continue to work together, at least for now. The future of the first real home humans have had in space, key for research and science, and a stepping stone to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, now finds itself at an important crossroads, and the clock is ticking.
Source: The Independent, Roscosmos
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