Nauka module to become integral part of the ISS — Roscosmos chief

MOSCOW, April 21. /TASS/. Russia’s Nauka multifunctional module, to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) this summer, will become an integral part of the station, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday. "Nauka will be an integral part of the Russian segment of the ISS," Rogozin said on Twitter, answering to a question about how long the module will be a part of the ISS before being transferred to the planned new orbital station. According to Rogozin, orbital altitude and other key parameters of the new station have already been determined and will be announced soon. Earlier on Tuesday, the space corporation chief said Russia’s Energia Space Rocket Corporation had been assigned the task of making the first basic module for a new Russian orbital station ready in 2025. Work on it is already underway, he said. Rogozin also posted a video of the first module under construction: this will be a research and power unit that was previously intended for its launch to the International Space Station in 2024. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov’s office announced on April 18 that the space station’s condition left much to be desired. In order to avoid any risks in case of accidents, it was necessary to carry out a technical inspection of the station. After this, a decision should be made on the orbital outpost’s further operation. Also, Borisov said in an interview with the 'Moscow. Kremlin. Putin' program on the Rossiya-1 TV channel that Russia might quit the ISS project in 2025. Read more