In space, too, Russia and the West will soon go their separate ways. The new head of the Russian space agency Roskosmos announces his country’s departure from the International Space Station. From 2024 it should be ready.
Russia plans to exit the International Space Station after 2024. The new head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said at a meeting with Russian President Valdimir Putin. “Of course we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to exit this station after 2024 has been made,” said Borissov, whom Putin had previously appointed to succeed Dmitry Rogozin.
Rogozin had repeatedly questioned cooperation with the United States, also in view of political tensions between Moscow and Washington in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Borisov said that the construction of a Russian space station should start before the exit. The ISS was getting on in years and had repeatedly caused a stir due to breakdowns.
Rogozin had previously not ruled out decoupling the Russian module from the ISS and continuing to operate it independently. He also indicated a possible use of the station for military earth observation. Following the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Western countries have also imposed sanctions on the Russian space industry.