from the should-I-stay-or-should-I-go-now dept.
Russian Official Predicts 'Avalanche' of Failures on the International Space Station After 2024
Russian official predicts 'avalanche' of failures on the International Space Station after 2024:
The director of Russia's space program has warned that chaos in the cosmos awaits when Russia leaves the International Space Station after 2024.
That's when Roscosmos director Yuri Borisov expects an "avalanche" of technical failures aboard the ISS due to its ageing hardware, according to a statement published on the website of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, on Friday.
"If we talk about the timing of the termination of Russia's participation in the ISS project, we announced that we intend to do this not from 2024, but after 2024," Borisov said, according to a Google translation of his statement. "Based on the opinion of our strength engineers, reliability specialists, who predict that after 2024, avalanche-like processes are possible due to the failure of various equipment in the ISS modules."
Borisov added that Russia could exit the ISS in the middle of 2024, when the nation's commitment on the station expires, or even closer to 2025.
But....
Russia: We're Not Leaving The Space Station Until Our Own Is Ready
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Earlier this week, Russia indicated that it was not extending the current cooperation agreement for the International Space Station, which expires in 2024, and would be departing the project after that. Nearly everyone noticed that there was no actual departure date specified, leaving open the possibility that it would continue its participation without a formal agreement in place. That now seems to be what will happen.
[...] On Wednesday, Roscosmos also posted a video indicating that completion would come in 2028, and the agency would "need to continue operating the ISS" until that date.
Given that it's extremely unlikely that Russia will manage to get a station built at all while under severe sanctions, this raises the prospect that Roscosmos will have no alternatives in orbit until after 2030, the year NASA has targeted for ending occupation of its portion of the ISS.
When Russia Leaves, What's Next For The International Space Station?
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Russia's announcement this week that it will leave the International Space Station "after 2024" raises critical questions about the outpost's future viability.
Here's what you should know about Moscow's decision, and the potential effect on one of the last remaining examples of US-Russia cooperation.
[...] "The fact they said, 'We're going to be committed through 2024' is good," Pace, a former high-ranking government official, told AFP.
It means Moscow isn't planning to pull out sooner, even though what precisely is meant by "after 2024" isn't yet clear.
The year 2024 is what the partners had previously agreed to, though NASA's goal is to keep the ISS in orbit until at least 2030 and then transition to smaller commercial stations.
[...] Russia has two propulsion systems: progress spaceships that dock to the station and the Zvezda service module. All of the control systems are handled out of Moscow.
It would be helpful if Russia left their segment in place rather than took it with them when they go—one of the station's two bathrooms are on the Russian side—observed Pace, but that's another unknown.
"If it's still there, and we wanted to use it, would there be some sort of rental arrangement? I don't know."
[...] "Maybe they should take the Russian pull-out as an excuse, and go, 'Okay, bye.' And now let's put our money in Gateway."
Well, I am glad that they have cleared that up then.
Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @05:45AM (1 child)
Vladimir Putin can shampoo my crotch.
(Score: 3, Funny) by hendrikboom on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:15AM
He would do it with radioactive polonium.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Angelica on Monday August 01 2022, @07:32AM (2 children)
Bring back AC posting! I am being repressed! And I have important things to say.
(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @09:50AM
...says person who made account 2 hours ago.
No. Fuck off, aristarchus.
(Score: 3, Touché) by turgid on Monday August 01 2022, @06:52PM
Try being a liberal fascist elite like myself in an alt-wrong world, then you'll know what oppression is all about. Or maybe try being a woman in Arakansas or Alabama or Afghanistan or one of those places. Or even a brown person.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 5, Funny) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @08:38AM (5 children)
Russia: I'll go home! And I take my sputnik with me!
The World: Ok, we have our own.
Russia: Erh.... ok, I'll stay so we can play with my sputnik!
The World: Ok, whatever.
Russia (stomping feet): You have to be worried that I go home and take my sputnik with me!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Monday August 01 2022, @10:26AM (4 children)
Right now, it actually sounds a lot more like this:
Russia: "Well ... I'm going to build my own space station. With blackjack! And hookers!"
The World: "OK, you do that."
But really, it's all bluster to pretend that Vlad is being "strong" by lashing out at a smaller neighbor with his "special military operation".
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Opportunist on Monday August 01 2022, @11:00AM
A military operation so special it rides the short bus.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:11AM (2 children)
The reality is, if Russia to leave space station now, it will crash to Earth in no time. So, being a nice neighbor, she gives the US a two years warning. NASA, Musk, whoever, do something now or else.
Game of chicken at it's best.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:19AM
Oh, and if you think it's Americans who support American part of space station now, think again. It's mostly outsourced and Chineese and Russians provide support to American modules.
Specifically, NASA outsourced to MIT, which outsourced to Switzerland, where Russians and Chinese were hired. Now the Russians have to leave because of sanctions.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Opportunist on Wednesday August 03 2022, @09:06AM
I kinda doubt that Russia stays 'til 24 out of the goodness of their heart. It's more likely that not fulfilling contractual obligations could bring on sanctions that would dwarf the current ones. Right now arguing to spank Putin like the petulant child he is kinda hard, but if his sensibilities and cranky attitude causes the loss of billions of dollars worth of investment, we might see a totally different reaction.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Quicksilver on Monday August 01 2022, @09:38AM (2 children)
When have you ever seen a technically detailed press release for general media that had more than 20% accuracy?
Every time you see something that requires a hard level of technical information to have any relevance it turns out to be insanely inaccurate. When the media announces a computer virus that is going to cause inestimable damage, a new battery technology that is going to change the world, or some earth shaking technology that is going to change life as we know it: They are always wildly wrong. (And they always miss the really big ones. Remember all the news stories about how these new cell phones were going to change basic human behavior? Yeah. Those didn't exist. Big things that make actually paradigm shifts always catch us by surprise.)
This is no different. In fact it is obviously 'worse'. It was released via a news channel that is well known to have limited interest in the truth and was written by people with a a whole host of reasons to want to make themselves seem indispensable, who want to protect their apparent importance in their organization, and who's leadership would heavily frown on any hint that they weren't the center of all that is good in the universe.
So, yeah, it is all bullshit and not worth the bits that it was printed with. On the day the Russians leave the only safe thing to do is decouple all their modules and de-orbit them. Add a couple modules to replace any functions you really want to have (such as a 2nd toilet) and make sure it has an electronics suite in it capable of detecting and analyzing in and outgoing transmissions to make sure that Russia doesn't have more remote access to anything then you realize.
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(And I'm pretty sure SpaceX will be happy to design and deliver modules at a faction of the cost and still make a tidy profit from it.)
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Immerman on Monday August 01 2022, @01:51PM (1 child)
The Russians might actually want to disconnect their modules and leave at the end of the current agreement. Their modules have everything needed to be a viable stand-alone space station, though they'd need to add power generating capacity quickly.
That could pose a problem for the rest of the ISS since they have the main engines required for staying in orbit and avoiding collisions. We'd need to add an alternate propulsion system immediately.
(Score: 2) by legont on Tuesday August 02 2022, @12:01AM
Yes, exactly. Russian modules are the only means that keep the station in orbit; currently.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by fraxinus-tree on Monday August 01 2022, @10:54AM
Out of money, (almost) out of smart people... What space tech?
Sorry, comrade Putin, it doesn't work.
It is not that modern space tech is expensive, in fact it gets cheaper. In order to develop space tech, one needs a whole pyramid of science, investments, knowledge, industry and people and the space tech is only the top of the pyramid. You don't have the economy to power everything this (in fact it is you that prevented it from developing) and you don't have the smart and knowledgeable people to run it (you annoyed the hell out of most of them to the point where most of them either fled or changed fields).
The whole ISS thing was made to try to coax Russians in some form of meaningful cooperation. In this regard, it failed.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday August 01 2022, @02:57PM (1 child)
Sometimes, the technology is just too expensive for porn. Otherwise, you know, it would have been used for it and would have made headlines somehow.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2022, @06:49PM
Space Porn. Now there's an idea...