The European Space Agency and two private companies have teamed up to create a replacement for the International Space Station.
The European Space Agency (ESA), as well as European company Airbus Defense and Space and American Voyager Space, have signed a technology agreement aimed at creating a new space station Starlab in orbit. It is to replace the International Space Station (ISS), which will be decommissioned in 2030.
25 years ago, the first ISS module was launched into orbit, and a little later, the station turned into a 100-ton orbiting scientific complex, where hundreds of astronauts visited and thousands of studies were conducted. The ISS continues to operate, but in 7 years the station will end its work and be sunk in the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Business Insider
The ISS is the product of cooperation between several space agencies around the world, but Russia plans to withdraw from this project, and the station is technologically outdated and will soon become dangerous for astronauts. But this does not mean that a new similar space station will not appear in orbit. Both NASA and ESA, together with private companies, are currently preparing projects to create a new orbital outpost. But it will not be one new ISS, but several smaller space stations.
Photo: ESA
ESA, Airbus Defense and Space, and Voyager Space have signed a trilateral agreement to build one of these new orbital outposts in low Earth orbit. We are talking about the Starlab station, which will be much smaller than the ISS, but technologically it will be much better. Judging by the design images presented, the new outpost will consist of a habitable module where spacecraft can dock thanks to a universal docking system.
Next to this module will be a scientific module with places for mounting equipment for experiments, and a robotic manipulator will be located here. The third module will house engines to maintain the station’s correct position in space, as well as solar panels to provide Starlab with electricity.
Photo: ESA
According to the ESA, all the necessary infrastructure will be created to ensure the “life” of the orbital complex, where both manned and cargo spacecraft will be able to arrive. The station will be used not only by government organizations but also by private companies.
