Russia says it will quit International Space Station after 2024

Russia says it will quit International Space Station after 2024



The move comes as Moscow and the West clash over the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, and casts new doubt over the future of global collaboration in space.

July 26, 2022, 8:11 AM CDT
By Alexander Smith

Russia said Tuesday it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024, signaling the end of a joint project that has served as a key symbol of post-Cold War cooperation with Washington.
The move comes as Moscow and the West clash over the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, and casts new doubt over the future of global collaboration in space. Russia has intimated that it sees its future as primarily a cooperative effort with the Chinese space program rather than NASA, its main partner of the last 25 years.

The head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that the country would exit the ISS and focus on building its own space station, according to state media.
"The decision on withdrawal from this station after 2024 has been made,” newly appointed Roscosmos head Yuri Borisov said, according to the Tass news agency.
Construction of the outpost in low-Earth orbit began in 1998 and was completed in 2011. It has been hailed as an example of reconciliation between the longtime adversaries, but has now felt the impact of a renewed earthly confrontation.
That agreement over the aging space station runs out in 2024. And Russian officials have previously hinted that they would let the agreement expire to work on their own Russian orbital station, which they hope will be operational in 2025.

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