Russian space agency chief said that the country’s equipment on the International Space Station was well beyond its expiry date. Roscosmos boss Yuri Borisov’s warning comes weeks after the International Space Station’s Russian segment went through yet another coolant leak.
The coolant leak was Russia’s third in less than a year which then had raised new set of questions on whether Russia’s historically acclaimed space programme was failing to maintain its reliability.
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“The International Space Station is approaching the finish line of its existence,” Roscosmos boss Yuri Borisov said on state television, news agency AFP reported.
“We extended the operation of the Russian segment by government decision until 2028, but, unfortunately, it has already exceeded all permissible periods of existence,” he said.
“Eighty percent of the Russian equipment is beyond the warranty period,” he warned.
Russia’s continuous setbacks in space programme
Russia’s space programme has faced a number of setbacks since the 1990s when the dissolution of Union of Soviet and Socialist Republics (USSR).
This includes the loss of two missions to Mars as well as its first lunar probe in August.
‘Luna-25 was 16 years in the making’: Roscosmos chief
Contrary to the view in South Asia, that Russian Luna-25 mission to Moon was launched in response to India’s Chandrayaan mission in July, the Roscosmos chief claimed that Luna-25 was in making for 16 years.
Borisov said there were “serious conclusions” and lessons to be learnt from the recent Luna-25 crash.
“Luna-25 was 16 years in the making,” he said. “That’s an unacceptably long time. It’s due primarily to erratic funding.”
He said that the team who worked on the mission was young, and that it would be wrong to “slap them on the wrist today”.
“It is necessary to draw the right conclusions from the whole situation, work on the mistakes and certainly continue this work,” he said.
The space sector in Russia continues to be gripped by a number of issues including funding problems and years of corruption scandals. However, the Russian President Vladimir Putin in September vowed to continue Russia’s lunar programme, despite the series of setbacks.
(With inputs from agencies)
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