Recently, NASA revised plans to create a private space station, the contract for the production of which was signed with Axiom Space. The company planned to begin assembling a new station based on the ISS with the launch of residential modules, and only by 2030 was it going to send the Axioma station into free flight in orbit. Under the new plan, assembly will begin with the service module and separation will occur two years earlier, although manned flights will be delayed.
Image source: Axiom Station
«Our ongoing assessment of the build sequence has identified opportunities for flexibility and improvement,” said Axiom Station program manager and chief operating officer Mark Greeley in a company statement Dec. 18. “Because the International Space Station requires backup to accommodate the station’s deorbiter, we were able to expedite this work to meet program requirements.”
In 2029, a specially created SpaceX ship should dock with the ISS to remove the station from orbit. The commercial Axiom station installed there should be moved away from the ISS, freeing up the port for the SpaceX ship. Until recently, it was believed that the Axiom modules for crew habitation would be the first to moor to the ISS, and only then the gateway and service module. Both habitation modules are already being manufactured by contractor Axiom Space, the Italian division of Thales Alenia Space. Axiom Space itself does not have production facilities and is only an integrator of the project.
Separating habitable modules from the ISS for free flight in orbit is the same as throwing them away. To maintain a normal microclimate inside the ship, a service module is needed that generates energy and heat. Therefore, in the amended plans, the emphasis shifts to manufacturing the service module first. Fortunately, its basis can be created from components already used for the production of habitable modules. The service module, separated from the ISS, will be able to maintain its state in orbit while awaiting the delivery of the habitable modules, gateway and production module.
It is planned that the service module will be delivered to the ISS at the end of 2027 or early 2028. By the end of 2028, the module will be separated from the ISS after inspections. This will usher in the era of private space stations, although manned flights to a commercial station will be delayed by two or more years. The ISS should last until 2030 and even longer. Ideally, NASA astronauts will continue the practice of staying in space continuously.