Russia Quietly Changed Its Space Station Plans. Here's What That Means

"The International Space Station (ISS) is due to close down by 2030, and Russia, one of its main partners, is designing its own replacement orbital laboratory. After a decade of planning to place its future space station into a high-latitude polar orbit for Arctic observation, Russian authorities have changed their minds. Instead the Russians have decided to stick with the familiar ISS orbitthe same 51.6-degree inclination used by the Soviet Mir space station nearly 40 years ago."

"The head of Roscosmos framed the shift as a step toward future space cooperation with India. We are building our own national orbital station, and India is building its own, Roscosmos general director Dmitry Bakanov said during a visit to New Delhi, according to Russian news source RBC. India has announced plans to launch the first part of its Bharatiya Antariksh Station in 2028. We are negotiating to place them in the same orbital plane."

"Experts, however, are skeptical that alignment with India played more than a rhetorical role. This decision is entirely understandable given the political and economic realities, says Dmitry Payson, a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, who was formerly associated with the Russian space sector. Placing the future station in the same orbit as the ISS is far less expensive, and require"

The ISS is scheduled to close by 2030 while Russia develops a replacement orbital laboratory. Russia abandoned plans for a high-latitude polar orbit intended for Arctic observation and chose the ISS's 51.6-degree inclination instead. The orbital choice will determine module design, launch vehicles, spaceports, and the structure of Russia's future space economy. Roscosmos presented the shift as an opportunity for orbital alignment with India's planned Bharatiya Antariksh Station, with negotiations to share the same orbital plane. Experts express skepticism about the India link and note the decision is driven by political and economic realities. Roscosmos officials did not respond to requests for comment.

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