The first module would be what is known today as NEM-1. It is a massive assembly of 21 tons, with modern and powerful laboratory installations half dedicated to astronauts (and therefore pressurized) and the other half with huge solar panels, adequate maneuvering and fuel reserves. In short a radical module, compared to what is currently in orbit. Better still, the flight item exists on the ground, even if it’s not fit to be the station’s central brick today. In any case, if this plan is adopted and honored by Russian manufacturers from 2024, it will not be sent into orbit until at least 2027 or 2028, to coincide with the end of Russian operations on the ISS (and save as much as possible). .
The aim is in any case to add node modules like Prichal and this is an intelligent design to organize the entire station around a “hub”. Thus, no more aging problems: if the laboratory is defective, cracked or too old, it can be replaced. Of the ISS, which controls the station, they are interconnected by 20 years of cables, antennas, fibers, equipment… and in any case, they were not designed to be unmoored.
