Russia has adjusted its plans for launching the modules of the Russian Orbital Station (ROS). The first three elements — the science-and-power module, the universal node module, and the airlock module — will be placed into orbit not from Vostochny, but from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This was announced by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov.
In addition to the modules, the new-series crewed transport spacecraft Soyuz ROS are also planned to be launched from Baikonur. All other elements of the station, including the base and mission-specific modules, as well as the Progress ROS cargo spacecraft, will continue to launch from Vostochny.
Manturov emphasized that when revising the orbital architecture of ROS, the key requirement remained the maximum possible use of Vostochny within the framework of the project's implementation.
Earlier, on December 5, 2025, it was announced that the project would shift from the originally planned polar orbit (inclination 97–98°) to an orbit with an inclination of 51.6° — the same one used by the International Space Station (ISS). This decision is connected with the increased radiation exposure in high-latitude orbits, because of which ROS was originally conceived as a visited station rather than a permanently inhabited one.
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