Russia patents technology for launching drones to maintain orbital space station

Moscow: Russia has patented a technology for launching automatic spacecraft from an orbital station, which will become the world's first drone platform equipped with robots for its maintenance.

This technology is planned to be tested at the Russian Orbital Station (ROS) and later applied in the exploration of the Moon.

First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov told President Vladimir Putin at a meeting here that by 2030, Russia must ensure a planned transition to its own orbital station module-by-module.

The ROS “will become the world's first drone platform equipped with robots for its maintenance. This is a patented solution of the Russian Federation,” Manturov said during the meeting on Friday.

The meeting, which was televised, was chaired by Putin to take stock of the ongoing national projects, including in the area of space.

“Testing of the technology will allow us to apply this format to our lunar programme,” Manturov was quoted as saying by www1.ru, a news portal dedicated to cover technology issues.

Work is currently underway to create the ROS, which is planned to be deployed in a near-polar orbit between 2027 and 2033.

A scientific and power module (SPM), the first segment of ROS, is scheduled for launch at the end of 2027. Also planned for launch by 2030 are the universal-node, gateway and base modules — together with the SPM, they will form the core of the station.

The second stage of the station’s deployment involves expanding the station by docking two target modules from 2031 to 2033.

Deployment of Russia’s orbital station is expected to commence by the deorbiting, by 2030, of the International Space Station, which has accumulated a very rich experience of joint space partnership between Roscosmos and NASA.