OPSEK
Computer-generated depiction of OPSEK
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| Station statistics | |
|---|---|
| Crew | 2 or more |
| Launch | 2020s |
| Launch pad | Baikonur Cosmodrome |
| Mass | over 100,000 kg when complete |
| Atmospheric pressure | 1 atm |
| Perigee | 370 to 450 km (planned) |
| Apogee | 370 to 450 km (planned) |
| Orbital inclination | 70 degrees (planned) |
| Typical orbit altitude | 370 to 450 km (planned) |
| Orbital speed | approx 28,000 km/h |
| Orbital period | approx 90 minutes |
| Orbits per day | approx 15 |
| Days in orbit | 0 |
| Days occupied | 0 |
| No. of orbits | 0 |
The Orbital Piloted Assembly and Experiment Complex (Russian: Орбитальный Пилотируемый Сборочно-Экспериментальный Комплекс, Orbital'nyj Pilotirujemyj Sborochno-Eksperimental'nyj Kompleks) (ОПСЭК, OPSEK) is a Russian proposed third-generation modular space station in Low Earth orbit. OPSEK would initially consist of modules from the Russian Orbital Segment of the International Space Station (ISS).
The proposal would use OPSEK to assemble components of manned interplanetary spacecraft destined for Mars, the Moon, and possibly Saturn. The returning crew would also recover on the station before landing on Earth. This OPSEK could form part of a future network of stations supporting manned exploration of the Solar System.
Before the predicted decommissioning of the International Space Station in the 2020s, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) plans to detach some of its modules, such as the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (which has not yet launched to the ISS), and use them as the basis for a new space station.
On 17 June 2009, Roscosmos officially informed its ISS partner NASA about its intention to "build and prepare for operation the first elements of the orbital assembly and experimental piloted space complex by the end of the ISS life cycle."
According to the Russian manned spaceflight contractor RKK Energia, the new station must be able to perform the following tasks:
OPSEK will follow the Salyut and Almaz series, Cosmos 557, and Mir as the 12th Russian space station launched. OPSEK is a third generation modular space station.
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Wikipedia