MOSCOW: According to the newly appointed head of Moscow’s space program, Russia has chosen to leave the International Space Station “after 2024.”
The declaration comes amid heightened hostilities between Moscow and the West over Moscow’s military action in Ukraine and several rounds of previously unheard-of sanctions against Russia. Together with the United States, Russia created the International Space Station (ISS), which has been in orbit since 1998.
Yury Borisov, who was named Roscosmos chief in mid-July, remarked to Putin, “We will, of course, fulfill all of our obligations to our partners, but the decision has been made to depart this station after 2024.
The “main goal” of the space program, Borisov stated, “I think that by this time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station.”Up until now, space exploration was one of the only fields where cooperation between Russia, the United States, and its allies had not been destroyed by disputes over Ukraine and other matters.
