Russian spacecraft manufacturer Energia Korolev Rocket and Space has submitted proposals to Russia’s Federal Space Agency (FSA) to extend utilisation of the International Space Station (ISS) to 2030, well beyond its certified life of 2016.
Revealing at the ISS heads of agencies meeting that US generators would power Russian modules from 2007, because NASA would not launch its power platform, FSA chief Vladimir Perminov said the agency was considering the station’s long-term future.
“Keeping the ISS operational is a primary objective for Energia,” says president and general designer Nikolai Sevastianov. “We can raise extra funding by providing payable services to third nations. We can offer [developing countries] time on the ISS for development of their technologies.”
Energia would offer its Multi-purpose Laboratory Module, developed jointly with Khrunichev, for commercial research. The module is to be launched to the ISS at the end of 2008.
VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Source: Flight International
