New Russian space station may potentially replace the ISS

[The title was written by my editor. It will NOT replace the ISS.]

A Chinese news agency is reporting that Russia is planning to build and place into orbit its own new space station, but does the country have the funds to really do it?

by John Tyburski

Copyright © Daily Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.

First published at Daily Digest News on November 18, 2014

What would it mean to the world if Russian deploys its own orbiting space station? According to the Chines news agency Xinhuanet, the world may find out in the next few years. Xinhuanet alleges that Denis Lyskov, deputy chief of Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency, the agency is exploring ways to develop a new orbital station. Russia would replace the International Space Station (ISS) with the new one, if the project moves to fruition, according to Lyskov via Xinhuanet.

The report is perhaps confirmed by Moscow’s Kommersant business daily, which reports that Russia is designing a multi-function orbital that may be positioned in a near-polar orbit. According to the report, the Russians intend to use the station as a base for reaching the moon.

The station would also be tasked with monitoring up to 90 percent of Russia’s vast territory, according to Kommersant. Currently, the ISS only provides surveillance of a fraction of the nation’s territory.

The question of whether the new space station will really be created comes from a report by the Interfax news agency in which is quoted an unnamed source within Roscosmos saying that the agency faces a funding shortage for the project.

The source went on to say that the information suggesting that Russia will replace the ISS with a new station by 2017–2019 is untrue. This source related that, in fact, Russia plans to stick with the ISS until at least 2020 and that the new orbital modules are being developed to dock with the existing ISS by 2017. The source denies that Russia is building its own complete orbital station.