---
title: "Russia Wants to Build a New Space Station from the ISS’s Bones"
description: "Why let a couple good rooms burn up in the atmosphere?"
date: "2016-06-29"
modified: "2016-06-29"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/4200/russia-wants-to-build-a-new-space-station-from-the-isss-bones"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "russia"
  - "space"
---

# Russia Wants to Build a New Space Station from the ISS’s Bones

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/062816-iss-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

[When the International Space Station reaches the end of its operation life sometime in the 2020s](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station#End_of_mission>), the current plan is for it to be dropped in a meteoric descent down towards a unpopulated chunk of the South Pacific. But all that could go out the window if Russia's main contractor for space travel has its way.

[According to a report from the publisher of RussianSpaceWeb.com](<https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a21543/russian-plan-new-space-station-iss/>), space contractor RKK Energia wants to separate the Russian multi-purpose module known as "Nauka" from the ISS in advance of the multi-national orbital outpost's terminal descent, then use it—and the two Russian-made modules scheduled to be added to it in the near future—as the foundation for a new space station with a big "Russians Only!" sign painted on the airlock.

It may seem odd at first glance, but salvaging the modules makes a fair amount of sense from the Russian perspective. While Nauru has been planned for years, a series of delays means it's unlikely to take off before 2017 at the earliest, meaning all those billions of rubles would have been spent on a perfectly good space habitat that's scheduled to burn up in the atmosphere after less than a decade.

The three-segment station wouldn't be nearly as impressive as [the ISS](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/1415/spacex-who-watch-nasa-astronauts-spacewalk-to-fix-a-rail-car>), but it wouldn't be an orbital walk-in closet, either. The Nauka module alone weighs 20 tons (at least, on Earth); the science module that will be added soon includes a modern laboratory and solar panels, while the upcoming Node Module can link up to six total station segments together. [Pop on an inflatable room](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/2876/nasa-and-spacex-are-blasting-an-inflatable-room-into-space>), add on a Soyuz capsule for quick exits, and boom—you've got *Mir II: Mir Harder*.

Of course, that's assuming this plan becomes a reality. So far, it hasn't been endorsed by the Russian government. But considering Vladimir Putin probably doesn't want to abandon the final frontier to America and [Elon Musk](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/1936/elon-musk-to-unveil-mars-spaceship-plans-in-september>), RKK Energia's plan seems like a decent way for the nation to keep its space dreams afloat.

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)