The ISS cracks, the space station ages badly and too quickly – Tom’s Guide

Superficial cracks were discovered in the Zarya module according to Vladimir Solovyov, chief engineer of the aerospace company Energia. According to him, “It’s bad and it suggests that the cracks will start to expand over time.”

Vladimir Solovyov did not report any air leaks related to the incident. On the other hand, the engineer had previously warned that the problems would only get worse by 2025. At issue: aging equipment.

Cracks, crazy thrusters, Russian modules are all the mishaps

To make matters worse, the new Russian module Nauka had mistakenly triggered its thrusters on July 29. This one, having just moored at the station, caused a deviation from its initial trajectory for more than 40 minutes. The engineers somehow managed to rectify the latter.

Russian space agency Roscosmos also said last month an air leak in the Zvezda service module. This incident would have caused a drop in pressure in it which accommodates, to make matters worse, living quarters for the crew.

The ISS, a rapidly aging and expensive station

With a launch and start of assembly of modules in 1998, the international space station (ISS) is now over 20 years old. It should also be noted that in addition to the overall cost of the station of 380 billion dollars according to NASA, we must add the annual maintenance costs. The US space agency estimates these at $ 4 billion per year.

While the initial plans called for a total lifespan of 30 years, various budgetary restrictions have meant otherwise. In fact, most modules and equipment have been designed for an operational life of 15 years.. For the oldest modules, we can therefore estimate that their expiry date was exceeded, in theory, dès 2013.

In 2017, the use of the ISS was planned until 2028, except breakdown or significant incident. But, in 2018, NASA finally expressed a wish to opt out of the program. This past date, the assumption of responsibility of the station will have to be carried out by private interests. If so, the ISS should be deorbited.

Source: techradar.com