MOSCOW. Sept 30 (Interfax) - Roscosmos and NASA have not yet signed any agreement on the International Space Station (ISS)'s deorbiting after the end of the station's operation, as their talks are ongoing, the NASA Office of Inspector General said in a report.
"NASA anticipated that Roscosmos would commit to the Agency's ISS deorbit plan-which requires a continued partnership through 2030-in the summer of 2023. However, as of June 2024, negotiations continue, and no agreement has been finalized," the document, titled NASA's Management of Risks to Sustaining ISS Operations through 2030 and published on its website, says.
NASA experts believe that Roscosmos may prolong the operating life of the Russian segment of the ISS through 2030. "However, Russia's commitment beyond 2028 has yet to be decided given that the time frame for extension negotiations is not planned to occur until 2025 or 2026," it says.
"NASA and Roscosmos are focused on the technical requirements of a controlled deorbit, and as these requirements become defined, the subsequent roles and responsibilities of the two partners will be determined and eventually coordinated through an official agreement," it says.
It follows from the document that the ISS's deorbit plan previously developed by Roscosmos and NASA, which was based on propulsion provided by three Russian Progress vehicles, is not sufficient for carrying out the station's controlled deorbiting due to Russian vehicles "offering less control during deorbit than a vehicle specifically designed to perform a controlled deorbit would offer."
"NASA introduced a new plan that features a yet to be developed U.S. deorbit vehicle that would work with two Russian Progress spacecraft to initiate and complete the deorbit of the ISS starting in 2029 and concluding in 2031," the document says.
On October 2, 2023, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said that Russia's participation in the ISS project beyond 2028 depends on the station's technical condition. Once it is decided to terminate the project, the participating countries will conduct a correct deorbiting of the ISS, he said.
On June 30, 2024, Borisov said that the ISS in its current form will cease to exist after 2030.
On April 25, Roscosmos notified its partners about the extension of Russia's participation in the ISS project through 2028.