Roskosmos estimated the cost of building an orbital station at 600 billion rubles

The cost of building the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) will exceed, according to preliminary estimates, 600 billion rubles, informed Andrey Elchaninov, First Deputy Director General of Roscosmos, in an interview with Interfax.

“Based on the results of preliminary design, we will understand, but it will definitely be hundreds of billions of rubles. According to our estimates, this is from 300 to 600 billion rubles. The money will be divided according to the stages of construction. This is the sum with all the ships and infrastructure,” he said.

The first stage of construction, which involves the creation of a functioning core of the station (scientific and energy module, nodal and gateway modules, the base unit), is estimated at 350 billion rubles. At the same time, astronauts will be able to fly in and work at the station already at the first stage. The second stage assumes docking of target modules, he explained.

“Yes, the figure is significant, we are as scrupulous as possible in all technical solutions, understanding the full degree of financial burden on the country’s economy,” Yelchaninov added.

On April 12, according to him, the head of Roskosmos, Yuri Borisov, will inform President Vladimir Putin about the progress in designing the station.

In July 2022, Borisov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the withdrawal from the ISS project and the development of a Russian orbital station. However, in November, Borisov called it premature to talk about Russia’s withdrawal from the ISS project. He explained that the timing will depend on the technical condition of the Russian segment of the ISS and the timing of the deployment of its own Russian orbital station.

At the end of December last year, the director of the state corporation for manned programs, Sergei Krikalev, said that Roscosmos had proposed to the government to extend the operation of the Russian segment of the ISS until 2028. The current agreement on the operation of the ISS expires in 2024.