Russia, which started to leave space projects after its invasion of Ukraine, announced that it would cancel its biggest partnership. Space agency Roscosmos said they will leave the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024. Russia also announced that it will build its own private station.
Russia will leave the ISS in 2024 and make its own station
Details of the last meeting between Roscosmos Chief Yuri Borisov and Russian President Vladimir Putin have emerged. It has announced that it will finish its missions on the International Space Station by 2024 and then leave the ISS.
Russia, one of the founding countries of the ISS, which was put into service in 1998, confronted Western countries because of its invasion of Ukraine. While the future of agreements in space is uncertain, new partnerships have also been formed between Western countries and Russia. For example, NASA, SpaceX, and Roscosmos worked together to send astronauts into space.
Yuri Borisov, director appointed to Roscosmos earlier this month, said that their priority in space will be to build their own station. It should be noted that in recent years, China has followed a similar strategy and has developed a rival station to the ISS. It is unclear whether Russia will join China’s station.
Making statements after his meeting with Putin, Borisov said, “We will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but we have decided to leave the station after 2024.”
A similar deal cancellation earlier came from the European Space Agency (ESA). It was stated that the ExoMars mission, which was launched in 2016 in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia, has been completely canceled. According to the ESA’s 2016 briefing, $1.3 billion was allocated for the mission.
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