"The current state of the Russian segment of the ISS is cause for concern," Vladimir Soloviev, director of the segment's flight, told Ria Novosti on Tuesday.
The chief engineer of RKK Energuia, the company in charge of the maintenance of the Russian part of the station, specifies that "approximately 80% of the flight systems are at the end of their service life, which means that ' once all the systems have exhausted their service life, irreparable breakdowns can occur the very next day ”.
In recent months, pointing in particular to the obsolescence of infrastructure, Russia has repeatedly indicated that it is considering leaving its ISS partners (United States, Canada, Japan, European Space Agency) after 2025 to launch its own station. orbital.
Several damage has given rise to fears that structural problems could ultimately threaten the entire segment and the safety of the crews.
Cracks and air leaks
On Monday, Vladimir Soloviev thus noted that cracks had been discovered on the Zarya cargo module, which dates from 1998. The Zvezda module has experienced air leaks on several occasions, especially in 2019 and 2021.
At the beginning of April, he estimated that the life of the ISS could be extended in itself until 2030, but that it was to be expected "an avalanche of failures" after 2025.
The Russian space industry has encountered many difficulties in recent years between failed launches and corruption scandals.
But it wants to relaunch itself with ambitious projects, such as building its own space station or a lunar base with China.
Cooperation with the United States is deteriorating against a backdrop of international tensions.
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