Kathy Lueders, head of space operations for the US space agency NASA, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that Russian officials have said they intend to remain part of the International Space Station at least until 2028, when their own outpost in orbit will be completed.
The information contradicts a statement by Yuri Borisov, the new head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, who on Tuesday (26) had said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that the decision to leave the station “after 2024 has been made”. After that, Russia would start building an orbital station of its own, according to Borisov.
“We’re not getting any indication at any level of work that anything has changed,” Lueders told Reuters. She added that NASA’s relations with Roscosmos continue “as usual.”
It is speculated that the announcement to leave the International Space Station, launched in 1998, would be an attempt by Putin to force the United States to withdraw part of the sanctions applied due to the war in Ukraine.
The station is managed by Russia, the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada, but the project has already had partnerships with other countries, such as Brazil.
