Russia has decided that it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024 and that it must build a space unit on its own to put into orbit.
The announcement was made this Tuesday (26) by Yuri Borisov, the new head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. “The decision to leave the station after 2024 was taken,” Borisov said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, according to news agencies. “I think after that we will start building a Russian orbital station,” he added.
The Russian decision to abandon the International Space Station project, launched in 1998 as a symbol of the post-Cold War world, for bringing together Russians and Americans in a joint research project in an area in which they have competed for decades, comes at a time of hostilities between Russia and the West due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which started in February.
It is speculated that the announcement would be an attempt by Putin to force the United States to withdraw part of the sanctions imposed due to the war.
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. The continuity of the project, foreseen by NASA for at least until 2030, becomes an unknown with the Russian exit.
