After 2025, Russia plans to leave the International Space Station project and “move” to its own Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS). Vyacheslav Shurshakov, Head of the Department of Radiation Safety of Manned Space Flights at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke in more detail about the features of the project.
In particular, the expert said that the new station is intended to become a reference station for future flights to the moon. For this, the ROSS will be tilted more than on the ISS at about 97 degrees instead of 51.6 degrees.
“From an orbit with an inclination of 97 degrees, in addition to increasing visibility, it is convenient to fly to the Moon without additional maneuvering. That is, it is a reference for such a flight, which does not require additional gravity assist maneuvers, ”the mk.ru website quotes Shurshakov.
At the same time, due to a different location, the stay of astronauts at the station will become more dangerous, and the time spent at the station will have to be reduced by about a third.
“We note that the radiation dose in the new orbit will be increased by 30 percent. That is, it is necessary to recommend flying only 30% less than now, that is, not all six months, but 4 months, ”the expert explained.
Shurshakov added that a number of innovations are also planned to be used to improve the safety level of astronauts. Chemists are now working on solving the problem of radiation in space, in particular, specialists from the Belgorod State Technological University named after V.I. Shukhov.
“They have created a new composite material – a multilayer polymer, from which special clothing for astronauts can be sewn or the walls of the living module can be trimmed. The new material has already been tested at a nuclear submarine and a nuclear power plant, ”added the RAS expert.
