this is the international space station.
The US runs a majority of this portion while Russia operates this smaller section of
the spacecraft.
But now the whole enterprise faces questions about its future.
But the director of Russia's Space Agency didn't specify when after 2020 for the
country could leave the station the station program.
Some space experts say Russia may now be using the international space station as leverage against the
west,
Which imposed a slew of sanctions on Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
NASA is committed to keeping the spacecraft running through 2030.
And other partners have voiced support for that timeline.
But Russia's departure could complicate that plan and strain the future of scientific
research.
The first component of the international space station was a Russian part that went into or
1998.
The international space station was constructed over a number of years is actually by
far the largest construction project ever attempted in space.
Leroy chow is a retired U.
S.
Commander of the international space station and he was one of the astronauts involved in the building of the
spacecraft.
Since the launch of the first part,
also known as a module,
The US Russia and other partner countries have spent about $100 billion
10 years bolting the station together.
Today,
the spacecraft is the size of a football field that consists of 16 modules.
Space station is composed of a Russian segment and then the American segment.
It's dependent on both the Russian side and the US segment to operate correctly.
So what does Russia currently provide for the station,
let's zoom in on these two modules which are the backbone of the international space station.
And they make sure that the spacecraft stays in orbit and that astronauts can survive in space.
They comprise most of the thermal control system and the
life support and attitude control system.
And that altitude control system is key to making sure the space station stays afloat.
The giant spacecraft is about 250 miles away from the Earth's surface where it's known
as the low earth orbit.
And it needs to move at a speed of about 17,000 MPH to stay there.
But there's a thin atmosphere that slows down the station.
So the two Russian modules have engines and thrusters that help the spacecraft maintain its alto
the engine.
The low earth orbit is also home to thousands of tons of space debris and the engines and thrusters
help the spacecraft maneuver around the clutter.
So if Russia ends up leaving the station,
Nasa and other partners would need to come up with another solution to keep it operational possible
option is that if we could design and launch a module recreate the
functions of the Russian segment and launching the station before.
But now says this solution isn't practical because building and testing new modules
could take months if not years and cost billions of dollars.
Meanwhile,
Nasa and the White House are also working on other contingency plans For instance,
in june Northrop Grumman boosted the station using its spacecraft.
But if Nasa and other partners can't keep the lab in orbit,
that would jeopardize a series of research projects that can only be done in space.
Most of the research is really biomedical.
We're studying the astronauts and cosmonauts that are up there and the studies include how
microgravity and higher radiation could affect the human body,
as well as how fast astronauts can re adapt to the Earth's environment.
We need to understand and Mitigates the negative effects of being in
space for so long before we can send a crew to distant destinations like
Mars.
So the biggest effect,
of course,
is if Russia station would be the end of the program,
but Russia's potential withdrawal from the international space station also means the country will have to give up its
own research aboard the spacecraft.
So Moscow is laying out plans to start deploying its own orbiting outpost in 2028.
But constructing a space station won't be an easy task,
especially as Moscow faces a barrage of sanctions imposed by the West,
including ones on its space sector will cut off more than half of Russia's high tech imports
will degrade the aerospace industry,
including their space program.
Russia's trying to use the leverage probably because of the war in Ukraine and tension between
our countries.
That was just something that
Russia's space agency didn't provide further comment about its exit or whether the decision was
a response to Western sanctions.
But the agency has said it would complete its obligations to its partners.
Until its departure,
Nasa said it hasn't received a withdrawal notice from Russia,
so,
for now,
a major symbol of post Cold War collaboration has a few more years to stay in orbit.