“ROSS is necessary for the national security of our country”

– On July 26, the head of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov announced that Russia was withdrawing from the ISS project from 2024, and presented President Putin with a project for the future Russian orbital station ROSS. It is said that the station will not be seated, it will be visited. What tasks will it solve?

– First of all, ROSS is needed to solve national security problems in space. There are many such missions, and more and more each day, and solving these tasks on the ISS was simply impossible.

Unlike Russia, the Americans have long had a springboard for the development of such technologies – this is the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle unmanned spacecraft, a Pentagon project.

Its first flight took place in 2010. He flies in space for several years, then returns with the results of the experiments. The general public does not know what is happening on the ship. The format of the orbital station proposed by the head of Roskosmos, I think, provides even more opportunities to solve such problems.

– Why don’t we make an analogue of the X37-B?

— Orbital stations that we know how to do, that’s important. Each country has its own specialization. As a result, it can also be more cost-effective. But it is difficult to compare with the X37-B, little is known about this project. The only thing from the very beginning was that it was reportedly a Pentagon project. And the second:

Persons approaching the plane after landing at the Air Force Base are wearing protective gear.

– Can you guess why they need protection?

— These could be some biological experiments on the effects of radiation, tests on the possibility of long-term storage of nuclear charges in space. Because until now, no one knows how nuclear warheads will behave in conditions of cosmic radiation. And while it’s not clear, there is no way to deploy nuclear weapons in space. However, these are just my dreams and predictions.

close

one hundred%

Andrey Ionine

Valery Sharifulin/TASS

— Vladimir Solovyov, General Designer of RSC Energia, previously said that the construction of a new Russian orbital service station will begin in 2028. In the first phase, ROSS will include node and gateway modules, followed by basic and scientific and energy modules. What are these modules for?

– Knot – like a Lego piece that can absolutely join all other pieces. All other modules will dock at it, cargo and manned ships will join the airlock. This is a kind of constructor in which it will be possible to replace modules as they get older. This is the next step in terms of the logic of creating space systems.

“According to the description accompanying the station diagram presented by Yuri Borisov yesterday, only 2-4 people will be able to be on the station at the same time. A little or a lot?

– There are enough people for the tasks I outlined above. After all, people often create obstacles for experiments. As many systems on board are forced to work, the presence of astronauts on board creates microgravity and other interference. The presence of a person immediately complicates the station. He needs to rest, continue to work, train. Therefore, there is no food, water, etc. at the station. ROSS, on the other hand, should be simple and effective to solve the set tasks.

– External works are also indicated in the same scheme. There are 48, what is it?

– These are places for mounting special-purpose equipment on the station frame. There should be as many places as possible.

— The volume of the pressure chambers is 667 cubic meters. This is too much?

“These are places where people can be. There is much more on the ISS, of course 916. But once again, the station will be visited, it will solve certain problems. We don’t need another ISS, Salyut or Mir.

– Why do we need a production module and a service platform in ROSS?

– It’s an old idea – to make some kind of production in space. There we tried to make ultrapure crystals, bioprinting. A service platform is needed for a nuclear tugboat. Moreover,

it is assumed that some satellites can fly all the way to the station – either refueled, repaired, upgraded or disposed of.

– So, will ROSS solve technological problems?

– Yes. And one of them is the creation of the nuclear tugboat Zeus. This is a groundbreaking direction in development. It’s no secret that the country’s defense also depends on it. The creation of the Moon and Mars project is impossible without it. Testing of all technologies related to Zeus will take place at ROSS.

– Will the national orbital station solve any political problems?

– Of course. Russia is a member of various associations such as BRICS, SCO, EAEU. Space projects are the best tool to develop such a partnership. In addition, humanity has reached a stage where the next steps in space exploration can only be determined by universal missions. In my view, it is impossible for them to be implemented in a national format.

– Why?

– This is due to the scale of these tasks. Resources in the world are running out, humanity needs new goals for development, people have to accept that they are gradually being thrown out of the economy by artificial intelligence, for example, they have to be protected from meteorites in order not to experience a death scenario. of dinosaurs. Space exploration provides answers to these challenges.

New resources can be found on other planets, artificial intelligence in space is a welcome help – since there are very few hands, the development of new areas gives the possibility of protecting itself from meteorites or environmental disasters. It is no coincidence that Elon Musk introduced the Mars project, brought up the idea of ​​​​creating a backup bridgehead for humanity, and it is no coincidence that Jeff Bezos brought up the idea that the entire industry should move harmful production into space, creating a close circle. -World industrial cities.

I’ve been watching attempts to legitimize all programs for their governments like the Moon, Mars, but it’s not working. There is no American, Russian or Chinese business there. There are only universal tasks.

— But will ROSS still be a national station?

— ROSS will turn off the peripheral direction. The main way of Roskosmos is the implementation of a universal program per month. And the BRICS format is the most understandable here, in these countries there are already about 35-40% of the world’s population, and there will be even more in BRICS Plus. And this union is built on the principle of equality of countries. The Moon project fits as closely as possible to the BRICS ideology; based on shared problem solving. And Russia should be the leader there.