Russia announced its decision to leave the international space station (ISS) after 2024. The head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) Yuri Borisov has reportedly informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of this plan.
"Vladimir Vladimirovich, you know that we are working within the framework of international cooperation on the International Space Station," said Borisov, according to a translated report from the TASS media, as quoted by The Verge, Wednesday (27/7/2022).
"Of course, we will fulfill all obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made."
The announcement appears to confirm claims made by former Roscosmos chief Dmitriy Rogozin, who has threatened to quit the ISS several times amid the strained relations between Russia and the United States following the invasion of Ukraine.
NASA as one of the ISS operators has also not taken the Russian threat seriously. The ISS is scheduled to retire in 2024, but NASA is already in discussions with Roscosmos to extend cooperation on the ISS until 2030.
NASA officials even said they had not received official information from Roscosmos. NASA administrator Bill Nelson said he was not aware of Russia's announced decision.
"NASA is committed to the safe operation of the International Space Station through 2030 and in coordination with our partners. NASA is not yet aware of the decisions of any partners, although we continue to build on our future capabilities to ensure our presence in low-Earth orbit," Nelson said in an official statement.
Roscosmos and NASA are two of the largest partners on the ISS tasked with keeping the space station operational every day. If one of the two retreats, it will be very difficult for the ISS to continue operating as usual.
The ISS has two parts that are controlled by NASA and Roscosmos respectively but are interdependent. NASA is in charge of providing electricity to the ISS and maintaining its position, while Roscosmos is responsible for propelling the ISS from falling out of orbit.
In addition to announcing plans to leave the ISS, Borisov also said that Russia will start building a new space station called the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) in 2024.