Russia to pull out of International Space Station

• Russia will leave the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024. Yuri Borisov, head of Russia’s space agency, says new station will be built in its place.
• Russian spacecraft launches from an ESA launch site in French Guiana suspended.

Russia has stated that it will leave the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 and build its own station in its place.

Yuri Borisov, the new head of Russia’s space agency, stated that Roskosmos would fulfil all of its obligations until then.

Since 1998, the United States and Russia, along with other partners, have successfully collaborated on the International Space Station.

However, relations have deteriorated since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Russia has previously threatened to abandon the project due to Western sanctions.

The International Space Station (ISS), a joint project of five space agencies, has been in orbit around Earth since 1998 and has been used to conduct thousands of scientific experiments.

It has been approved to operate until 2024, but the US wanted to extend it for another six years with the agreement of all partners.

Mr Borisov announced the decision to abandon the project after 2024 during a meeting with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.

“I think we’ll start putting together a Russian orbital station by this time,” Mr Borisov said, adding that the new station was his agency’s top priority.

“Good,” Mr Putin replied.

It is unclear what this decision means for the future of the International Space Station, with a senior Nasa official telling Reuters that the US agency had not been officially informed of Russia’s plans.

The war in Ukraine appeared to have had little impact on Russia-US ISS cooperation, with the two countries signing an agreement earlier this month to allow Russian cosmonauts to travel to the station on US spacecraft and vice versa.

According to a Roskosmos statement, the agreement will “promote the development of cooperation within the framework of the ISS programme.”

Russians have agreed to return an American astronaut to Earth.

The Soviet Union and Russia have a long history of space exploration, and achievements such as the first man in space in 1961 are still sources of national pride.

During his meeting with Mr. Putin, Roskosmos chief Mr. Borisov stated that the new Russian space station would provide Russia with space-based services such as navigation and data transmission.

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