In April 2022, the head of the Russian Space Agency, Rogozin, announced: the end of cooperation with the West on the International Space Station, the termination time is still determined, just like this, the countdown to the division of the International Space Station in two began, the specific time, it depends on Russia's meaning.
Recently, Moscow-based space analyst Andrei Ionin said in an interview that Russia is very likely to end its cooperation with the West on the International Space Station in 2024. It's 2022, and two years is enough time for NASA to build a propulsion module for the International Space Station.
If the Russian module were to leave now, and the International Space Station, worth more than $160 billion, would the U.S. module crash? Actually, it was really saved.
The International Space Station was jointly built by 16 countries, but in fact the United States and Russia occupied the most modules, a total of 16 modules, the United States built 8 modules, Russia built 6 modules, for the space station, The Russian module is too important.
The International Space Station looks like outer space, but in theory, it is still running in a thin atmosphere, and the resistance of gas molecules makes the natural height of the International Space Station continue to decrease, about 2 kilometers per month, requiring the Russian module to regularly raise the orbital altitude.
To keep the Islamic Space Station high, Russia spends $50 million a year on fuel. If the Russian module leaves and begins to operate independently, then the fuel consumed by the Russian module every year is only 1/3 of enough.
After being separated from the U.S. module, there is no doubt that the Russian module cannot operate, the Russian module is fully equipped, there is a space toilet, a complete life system, a water circulation system and an air filtration system, space sports equipment, a sleeping capsule, a space kitchen, and a solar wing electronic board.
The Russian module is also divided into a life cabin, an experimental cabin, a cargo storage cabin, a functional cargo compartment of the Aurora (Zarya), a service module of the Zvezda, an experimental cabin of the Science, and a docking cabin of the Dock (Nauka), which really has everything, and the independent operation can also run smoothly.
On the contrary, the US module, the trouble is big, without the Russian module, it is equivalent to suddenly losing the propulsion system, unable to raise the altitude, unable to avoid the impact of space debris, but this will not let the US module crash, in fact, it can be saved.
Don't forget, the United States also has three spacecraft equipped with propulsion systems, the Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft, the SpaceX Cargo Dragon Spacecraft and the SpaceX Manned Dragon Spacecraft, which only need to be slightly designed to be converted into an International Space Station propulsion module, especially the Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft.
From the outside, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft is composed of a "round iron barrel" and two disc-shaped solar wings, the "round iron barrel" is 5.1 meters long, 3.07 meters in diameter, has a net weight of 3400 kilograms, has a maximum transport capacity of 2700 kilograms, and can transport 2700 kilograms of cargo to the International Space Station at one time.
Since 2013, the Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft has flown a total of 17 times, and the last launch of the Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft was on February 19, 2022, a commercial replenishment to the International Space Station, which is currently moored on the International Space Station.
Therefore, even if the Russian module leaves, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft can temporarily take over the International Space Station and assume the maneuvering operation of the International Space Station, in addition, the International Space Station also has a SpaceX manned Dragon spacecraft for a long time, which can also play an auxiliary role.
The excess fuel of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft can only allow the International Space Station to last for 2-3 months at best, and after 3 months, the space station will need another Neo-Cygnus cargo spacecraft to replace the fuel-depleted Cygnus cargo spacecraft.
This is never a long-term solution, intensive space launches are too expensive, the purchase cost of the Cygnus cargo spacecraft plus rocket launch costs, each launch costs hundreds of millions of dollars, so the best way is to convert a Cygnus cargo spacecraft into a propulsion module, increase the size of the fuel tank, and carry 2.7 tons of fuel at a time.
2.7 tons of fuel can make the International Space Station used for more than half a year, but still not ideal, or need to create a special propulsion module, whenever the Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station to send supplies, by the way to the propulsion module to add a certain amount of fuel, in order to ensure the height of the International Space Station.
If the Russian module leaves, the U.S. module will not crash, but the trouble is indeed big, first, in the first few months, it will consume a number of Cygnus cargo spacecraft, second, it will cost a lot of money to build a special propulsion module, and third, add nearly 50 million US dollars of fuel every year.
No matter how to calculate, the International Space Station is divided into two, the impact on the Russian module is not large, but it can save more than half of the fuel cost every year, the United States has lost a lot, but it can be saved, in the first year, it may need to burn hundreds of millions of dollars, even if the propulsion module is successfully entered into orbit, it also needs 50 million US dollars of fuel costs every year. Interesting and informative scientific content, please pay attention to the only WeChat public account: Interesting Exploration