INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) PROGRAMME

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) PROGRAMME

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Russia’s space agency said it hoped to launch its own orbital station in 2025 as Moscow considers withdrawing from the International Space Station programme to go it alone.

Concept :

• Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin said work had begun on the first module of a new station, after officials warned that Russia was considering pulling out of the ISS, one of the few successful examples of cooperation with the West.
• The announcement came with tensions soaring with the West.
• Launched in 1998 and involving Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency, the ISS is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history.
• Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister YuryBorisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station’s age. Roscosmos said that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made.
• Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of U.S. company Space X.
• Despite its much-lauded history — Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit — the country’s space programme has struggled in recent years as president Putin is more interested in military technology than space exploration.