Russia and India to Form Orbital Space Alliance: National Stations to Operate on the Same Orbit

21:41; 05 December 2025 year

First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in an interview with RT named the main parameter of the future Russian orbital station (ROS). The inclination of its orbit will be 51.6 degrees. The International Space Station is already operating on the same orbit, and as Manturov emphasized, it is planned to place the future Indian space station there. For a long time, the designers of the station considered the option of a polar orbit (about 97 degrees), which would provide observation of the entire territory of Russia and the waters of the Northern Sea Route. However, this path is associated with increased risks due to higher levels of radiation in the polar regions. The final decision in favor of the standard inclination of 51.6 degrees indicates a priority for safety, technology continuity, and, importantly, the possibility of international cooperation, primarily with India. The ROS project is one of the most ambitious and expensive in modern Russian space exploration. Its planned cost is 608.9 billion rubles. Deployment of the station will take place in two stages. By 2030, four modules will be successively launched into orbit. The first, a scientific and power module (NEM), will be sent into orbit by the end of 2027. Next will come the universal-nodal, docking, and base modules. In 2031-2033, two target modules will be attached to the modules already in orbit, which will increase the scientific and living potential of the station.

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