State of Russia's ISS Segment Sparks Safety Concerns
upstart writes:
State of Russia's ISS segment sparks safety concerns:
A Russian space official on Tuesday raised concerns about the deteriorating state of Russia's segment of the International Space Station due to out-of-date hardware, warning it could lead to "irreparable failures".
In recent years, the Russian segment of the ISS has experienced a string of problems, including air leaks caused by cracks, raising questions about the safety of the rotating crews onboard.
"Around 80 percent of the inflight systems on Russia's segment have reached the end of their service period," Vladimir Solovyov, chief engineer of the Energia rocket and space corporation, told the RIA Novosti news agency.
[...] "This means that literally a day after the systems are fully exhausted, irreparable failures may begin," Solovyov added.
[...] On Monday, Solovyov said that small cracks had been discovered on Russia's Zarya cargo module. Launched in 1998, it is one of the oldest modules of the ISS.
Also at the BBC.
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