Launched on November 20, 1998, the International Space Station (ISS) will soon
celebrate its 23 years of activity. Since its commissioning, it has been the
place of occupation for astronauts of different nationalities and is a
veritable orbital laboratory in which various scientific experiments are
carried out daily. In the opinion of several experts, the ISS is aging and the
risk of malfunction or degradation will increase over time. Recently, an
example of this deterioration was detected by Russian cosmonauts under the
appearance of several cracks in the structure of the Zarya module.
Russian cosmonauts have discovered cracks in the Zarya module of the
International Space Station (ISS) and fear the cracks will spread over time, a
senior space official reported on Monday (August 30th). "Superficial
fissures have been found in some places on the Zarya module," said Vladimir
Solovyov, chief engineer of rocket and space corporation Energia.
"This is bad and suggests that the fissures will begin to spread over
time." The Zarya module, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, was
the first component of the ISS to be launched, put into orbit on November 20,
1998, according to NASA. Vladimir Solovev recently said the ISS was starting
to show its age and warned that there could be an "avalanche" of
decommissioned equipment after 2025.
Following a series of technical incidents
The space station has suffered several recent incidents. Russian officials
last month said a software glitch, and a possible lapse in human
attention, were to blame for throwing the ISS out of control.
Jet thrusters on the Russian research module Nauka inadvertently reignited
a few hours after it had docked, causing the entire orbital outpost to
pitch out of its normal flight position with seven crew members aboard.
Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, also reported last month a drop in
pressure in the Zvezda service module, which provides living quarters for
crew members on the ISS that was caused by an air leak.
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has said it will remain part of the
ISS until 2024 and that it is open to extending its participation beyond
then.
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