Russia will opt out of the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country’s newly appointed space chief said on Tuesday.
Yuri Borisov, who was appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, said during a meeting with Vladimir Putin that Russia would fulfil its obligations to its partners at the ISS before leaving the project.
“The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” Borisov said.
His statement reaffirmed previous declarations by Russian space officials about Moscow’s intention to leave the station after 2024.
It comes amid soaring tensions between Russia and the west over the invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the rift, Nasa and Roscosmos made a deal earlier this month for astronauts to continue riding Russian rockets and for Russian cosmonauts to catch lifts to the ISS with the private US rocket company SpaceX beginning in the autumn.
The agreement ensures the ISS will always have at least one American and one Russian onboard to keep both sides of the outpost running smoothly, according to Nasa and Russian officials.
The swap had long been in the works and was finalised despite frictions over the Ukraine war in a sign of continuing Russia-US cooperation in space.
A senior Nasa official told Reuters on Tuesday that Russia has not communicated its intent to withdraw from the ISS.
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