Изображение: СТВ
Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences Uladzimir Karanik said on STV that Belarus is planning to prepare a long-duration space mission. According to him, the project is being discussed with Roscosmos.
“This is long-term work. We must understand that the space programme should develop in stages. The next stage is a longer mission. Now, during space week, we spoke with a representative of Roscosmos about preparing a joint expedition within the framework of the Russian Orbital Station project, where a representative of the Republic of Belarus would be part of that expedition”, he said.
According to him, this is not a matter of one or two years.
“The main task is to develop a scientific programme. Based on that programme, candidates will be selected and preparations for the flight will be carried out. This is not a matter of one or two years, but we already have a longer mission in mind. Moreover, we are gradually beginning to prepare for it, primarily in terms of developing the scientific content, preparing experiments and identifying areas that would be of interest both to us and to our colleagues at Roscosmos to carry out during the mission”, he added.
It should be recalled that in 2024 Roscosmos approved a programme for the creation of a Russian Orbital Station. Under the plan, a scientific and energy module is scheduled to be launched this year. Then, by 2030, a universal node module, an airlock module and a base module are to be placed in orbit. The second phase of the station’s construction is planned for 2031–2033. According to the latest data, the launch of the first module is scheduled for December 2027.