Russia aims to create a four-module core of its planned new orbital space station by 2030, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday, as quoted by "Reuters".
Roscosmos head Yury Borisov signed the schedule with the directors of 19 enterprises involved in the creation of the new station.
The agency confirmed plans to launch an initial science and energy module in 2027. It said three more modules would be added by 2030 and two more between 2031 and 2033.
So far, Russia has partnered with the United States and other countries on the International Space Station, one of the few areas where it still cooperates closely with the US, given the strained state of relations since its invasion of Ukraine.
p>
As the ISS nears the end of its operational life, Moscow has announced plans in 2022 to withdraw from the project and build its own station. The country initially said it would leave the ICC after 2024, but told its partners last year it would extend its participation until 2028.
In addition to the design and production of the modules, Roskomos said the schedule approved by Borisov includes flight tests of a new-generation manned spacecraft and construction of rockets and ground infrastructure.
The new station will allow Russia to "solve the problems of scientific and technological development, national economy and national security that are not available in the Russian segment of the ISS due to technological limitations and the terms of international agreements," the announcement said.
Russia has been proud of its space program since the Cold War, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel in space in 1961. But last year it suffered a major setback with the failure of its first moon mission in 47 years. when his unmanned spacecraft spun out of control and crashed into the surface of the moon.