Russia will leave the International Space Station ISS after 2024, when the country plans to develop its own national space station.
This is what Yuri Borisov, Russia’s former deputy prime minister who took over as head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos on July 15, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.
– Of course we will fulfill our commitments to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made, says Borisov in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
– I think we started working on the Russian space station at that time, he says.
At the end of April, the head of Roscosmos at the time, Dmitry Rogozin, said that Russia will leave the station, but without further details about the timetable. At the time, the decision was announced as a result of the sanctions directed at Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The US space agency Nasa states that it has not “heard a word” from Russia regarding the decommissioning plans.
– We have not received any official communication from our partner regarding today’s news, said Robyn Gatens, director of ISS.
Gatens added that she “absolutely does not” want Russia to withdraw.