The leader of The State Space Corporation (Roscosmos) – Yury Borisov, announced that Russia is planning to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) and end cooperation with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), according to CNN.
After a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yury Borisov said that the decision to leave The International Space Station after 2024 had been made.
“We are working within the framework of cooperation at the ISS (International Space Station). We will fulfill all our obligations to our scientific partners, but Russia has decided to withdraw from the station after 2024. I think by that time, we will start building a Russian space station. We will be able to do that.” Borisov said.
This is not the first time Russia has threatened to leave the ISS because of US and European sanctions over its special military operation in Ukraine. However, recent statements from the Russian side show a clearer intention and especially when approved by Putin.
According to the minutes of the meeting posted on the Kremlin’s website, Putin nodded “good” after Borisov mentioned that Roscosmos would start building its own space station after 2024.
“According to the vision of the head of Roscosmos, Russian spaceflights must be part of a systematic scientific program, so that each mission will provide Russia with new knowledge”. RT reported.
Robyn Gatens, ISS director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said that NASA has not received any official notification from Russia about the decision to leave the ISS.
Russia’s withdrawal will be a heavy loss for the ISS, a model of international cooperation for decades, especially when NASA and other scientific partners expect to continue to maintain the ISS operation until the end of 2030.
The reason is that the modules and boosters of the ISS (International Space Station) are all Russian-made.
