The International Space Station is a large-scale international space cooperation project led by the United States and Russia, with 16 countries participating in the construction, and for many years, multinational astronauts from all over the world have settled on the International Space Station to conduct scientific research.
Recently, however, Russia recently released a simulated video of "disengaging from the space station", in which the soundtrack is very cheerful.
In the picture, the Russian astronauts move to the Russian cabin in turn, and then close the air valves of each part, this shot is a real shot, not a synthetic.
But in the next video, it is a computer-generated virtual screen, the Russian cabin segment and the international space station are separated, that is, "separated", and the Russian cabin segment after the separation runs alone.
According to reports, the purpose of the video is to show the possibility of Russia withdrawing from the International Space Station cooperation project.
The video seems to confirm Rogozin's warning that if Russia withdraws from the ISS project, the station could be "derailed uncontrolled."
International Space Station
The International Space Station project, since its official construction, has had multinational astronauts move in and work, while the mainland has always been excluded from the International Space Station project. Fortunately, the mainland now has its own space station, and the core technology is continental, not subject to the restrictions and influence of any country.
However, the International Space Station is dominated by the United States and Russia, which is divided into Russian modules and American modules, from the perspective of physical space, Russian modules and American modules can be cut, but in fact, the two have long been inseparable from each other.
First of all, the International Space Station is running in an orbit 400 kilometers above the Earth, where although the atmosphere is thin, it is not a complete vacuum, and the air resistance will continue to consume the kinetic energy of the International Space Station, if it is not maintained, the International Space Station is bound to fall slowly downward until it falls into the atmosphere and burns.
In addition, there is a lot of space junk in the orbit of about 400 kilometers, some of which are more granular space junk, which has the risk of hitting the International Space Station, and once a serious impact occurs, it will threaten the entire International Space Station and the lives of astronauts.
In order to avoid impact, when the International Space Station detects space junk at risk of impact, it must adjust its orbit to avoid being hit, which will also consume a part of the energy.
It is precisely because of this that the International Space Station needs additional power to provide additional power to adjust the orbit, or to correct the orbital height, and this part of the function is mainly mastered in the Russian module, which is mainly responsible for maintaining the orbital attitude and height of the space station to ensure that the International Space Station will not fall.
In fact, the US "Cygnus" cargo spacecraft also has a certain ability to adjust the orbital altitude, but it can not completely replace the Russian module, and the "Cygnus" cargo spacecraft also needs to use the Antares carrier rocket to launch, and the rocket needs to use the Russian rocket engine, and now Russia is cut off from the US rocket engine, so if the International Space Station really leaves the Russian module, the consequences will certainly not be much better.
So can the Russian cabin leave the US cabin and carry out the mission independently?
In fact, it is not enough, although the russian cabin function is relatively complete, with all the functions of the service cabin, life cabin, experimental cabin and cargo cabin, however, part of the power of the Russian cabin needs to be provided by the US cabin, and the Russian cabin also has its own solar panels, but it still needs the US cabin to provide power.
However, because Russia has long had the idea of withdrawing from the International Space Station and has repeatedly proposed to build its own space station, if it really decides to separate from the International Space Station, Russia can continue to launch several modules and maintain the normal operation of the Russian module after independence, but this requires a lot of money, which is not a small amount for Russia.
Therefore, although the International Space Station can be divided from space, it is not realistic for the two to completely separate their families. Moreover, even if it is really necessary to separate the family, it is not simply to close the gas valve, but to recalculate the orbital attitude, mass distribution, etc., and can be separated after multiple adjustments.
What about American astronauts on the International Space Station?
At present, there are 7 astronauts on the International Space Station, of which 4 are American astronauts, 1 European astronaut and 2 Russian astronauts. It is expected that three more Russian astronauts will enter the International Space Station on March 18, and it was originally planned that one American astronaut and two Russian astronauts would return to Earth on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30.
That is to say, if everything goes according to plan, in April, there will be 3 Russian astronauts, 3 American astronauts and 1 European astronaut on the International Space Station.
So if the Russian module is separated from the International Space Station, why should these 7 astronauts return?
In fact, even if the Russian module wants to be completely separated from the International Space Station, it is not a matter of one day or two, during which the two countries will certainly negotiate how to arrange for the return of astronauts to Earth.
Moreover, the United States already has manned spacecraft with the ability to transport astronauts to the space station, which has shaken off its dependence on Russia.
However, if you really want to separate, the Lack of Russian modules of the International Space Station will be difficult to continue to operate, coupled with the serious aging of the International Space Station module, many places of damage, air leakage, the original plan was intended to fall to the earth in 2031, if the two countries really want to separate, the International Space Station is likely to be retired in advance.