Russia says it will build together with the US a moon orbiting station
Russia and the United States agreed to create a shared space station named Deep Space Gateway, which will operate in the Moon's orbit, as stated by the head of Roscosmos, Igor Komarov, at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia, Interfax reports.
According to Komarov, the first modules of the space station can be put into orbit as early as 2024-2026.
"We have agreed that we will jointly participate in the project to create a new international near-moon station called Deep Space Gateway. At the first stage, we will build an orbital module with the further prospect of using the proven technologies on the surface of the Moon and subsequently Mars. Launching of the first modules into orbit is possible in 2024-2026," said the head of Roscosmos.
Komarov added that China, India, Brazil, and South Africa may also take part in the project. This decision was approved both by the Russians and the Americans.
"Our initiative to expand the number of countries that will be able to participate in the discussion of this project was taken into account. It was determined that China, India, and other BRICS countries will take part in the joint work on the near-moon station," the head of Roscosmos noted.
According to Komarov, the Russian contribution to the project will be the creation of one to three modules and a unified docking mechanism for all ships that will moor to the station.
"In addition, Russia intends to use a new super-heavy-duty rocket-carrier, which is currently being developed, to put the structures into the near-moon orbit," Komarov added. However, he also noted that at the moment, the final distribution of roles in the work on the project is not yet approved.
"We have signed a joint statement of intent to work on the near-moon station project and in the future, on the development of missions to the surface of the Moon and Mars," the head of Roscosmos concluded, noting that all details of the project should be worked out at the state level.
The fact that Russia and the United States were discussing a joint project for a flight to the near-moon orbit was announced by Roscosmos in mid-September in a comment made in response to President Vladimir Putin’s statement about Russia’s readiness to cooperate with the USA in space exploration during his speech at the Eastern Economic Forum 2017.
In July, it was announced that Russia postponed the launch of two spaceships, the Luna-26 and the Luna-27. According to the director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lev Zeleny, "our industry will not complete two interplanetary launches in one year."