NASA has announced that Russia has officially agreed to stay on the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028.
Roscosmos General Manager Yuri Borisov previously said that the country will withdraw from the ISS after 2024 in order to focus on building its own space station, but a clear date was not shared. The new statement shows that Russia will officially stay on the ISS until 2028.
The USA, Japan, Canada and the participating countries of the ESA (European Space Agency) have pledged to keep the ISS operational until 2030. The fact that Russia will also stay on the ISS until 2028 is of course good news for the ISS and it shows that things are settling. Because the tension with the USA and other countries due to Russia’s occupation of Ukraine in the last period was reflected in the studies in space. Dmitry Rogozin, former director of Roscosmos, has threatened to stop working with his western colleagues after the US and other countries imposed sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Although Roscosmos has now agreed to continue cooperating with its ISS partners, tensions between Russia and the United States before the invasion of Ukraine began, prompting NASA to prepare for the possibility of Russia leaving the space station. NASA and the White House are reportedly making plans to pull astronauts from the station if Russia suddenly leaves, as well as keep the ISS operational without the Russian thrusters keeping it in orbit.
As a result, Russia will remain on the ISS until 2028, but NASA has already begun preparations to replace it.
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