Russia's New Space Station Could Have More Room Than Current Russian ISS Segment - Files

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th December, 2020) A new Russian orbital space station that is being proposed by Russian Rocket and Space Corporation Energia would be larger than the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), Energia files obtained by Sputnik show.

The new station's design concept, presented in the files, shows that the first stage of construction (planned for 2025-2026) would lead to the creation of three modules with a total internal volume of 136 cubic meters. The second stage stipulates the building of four more modules in 2026-2028, which would increase the station's internal volume to 464 cubic meters.

The first two modules are designed to accommodate two cosmonauts, while the second stage of construction would increase the new space station's capacity to four cosmonauts, according to Energia files.

In comparison, the Russian segment of the ISS has an internal volume of around 189 cubic meters, while the internal volume of the Mir space station that was in operation between 1986 and 2001 was 376 cubic meters.

According to the Energia company, which is a subsidiary of Russian space agency Roscosmos, the planned new station, officially named the Russian orbital service station, is designed to be similar to the Russian Mir station. The new station's modules are expected to be launched into orbit using Russia's new Angara-A5 heavy-lift carrier rockets.