Russia plans to begin constructing its own space station in 2027, the national space agency Roscosmos announced on Tuesday.
The first module of the facility is set to launch into space that year. By 2030, the core of the station is expected to be complete, consisting of four units: a module for research and power supply, an airlock module, a base module and a universal docking module.
The expansion of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) is planned between 2031 and 2033 with the addition of two further construction units.
Roscosmos chief Yuri Borisov justified the timeline by alleging the International Space Station (ISS) is in poor condition.
"You all know very well the state of the ISS. And most importantly, we cannot allow any pause in our manned spaceflight," he said as he signed off on the timeline.
The now more than 25-year-old ISS was set to have been decommissioned by now. However, its operational times have been extended several times. Currently, the ISS is to remain in its Earth orbit at least until 2028.
The US space agency NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have also shown interest in continuing operations beyond that. However, following the start of its war against Ukraine, Russia announced its withdrawal from the joint project "after 2024" due to tensions with the West. Last year, Moscow stated that Russia would stay on board until 2028.
According to Borisov, the domestic space programme is not limited to the construction of the ROS but also includes the creation of the associated infrastructure with the Vostokhny Cosmodrome, new carrier rockets and space capsules.
Contracts for the construction and testing of the rockets have now been signed, Roscosmos stated.
Overall, Russia plans to invest some €6 billion ($6.4 billion) in the construction of the station.
Artificial intelligence will also be used in the endeavour, announced ROS chief designer Vladimir Kozhevnikov.