Modules of Russia's planned Russian Orbital Station (ROS) will be separated from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) only after the ISS begins its descent toward splashdown, a Roscosmos representative said, according to RIA Novosti.
The representative said that under current plans, the ISS orbit will begin lowering in 2028 ahead of its deorbiting. Undocking is currently planned at an altitude of about 300 kilometers, though the exact details will be set out in an addition to the ROS space complex's preliminary design, the representative said.
Deorbiting plans and NASA outlook
Roscosmos earlier told the agency that the ISS will be deorbited from low Earth orbit using two Russian spacecraft and one American spacecraft.
Separately in August, Dana Weigel, who oversees the low Earth orbit program at the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said NASA considers it technically possible to extend the ISS's service life.
