Russia has said it will retire from the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 to focus on building its own orbital outpost.
Yuri Borisov, who was appointed to head the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos earlier this month, said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia would fulfill its obligations to other partners before it quits the project
Borisov said that “a decision has been made to leave the station after 2024”.
It comes amid ongoing tensions between Moscow and the West over the war in Ukraine.
In April, Borisov’s predecessor, Dmitri Rogozin, said Russia would halt cooperation on the ISS in response to sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
He argued that the sanctions were designed “to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger and bring our country to its knees” and said that normal relations could only be restored with the unconditional lifting of “illegal” measures.
Despite rising tensions, NASA and Roscosmos agreed earlier this month that astronauts would continue to ride Russian rockets and that Russian cosmonauts could board the ISS with SpaceX starting in the fall.
More information about the International Space Station
The deal will ensure the space station always has at least one American and one Russian on board to keep both sides of the orbiter running smoothly, Russian and NASA officials said.
Earlier this year, NASA released plans for the ISS that could see the 444,615kg structure de-orbit in January 2031 and crash into a “spacecraft graveyard”.
He said the lab would continue to operate until 2030, but its long-term future is unsustainable.