Russia on Tuesday announced that it will withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024. This signals the end of a joint project that was a prominent symbol of post-Cold War cooperation with the United States.
The move follows Moscow and the West’s clash over Russian invasion of Ukraine and casts a shadow over future global collaboration in space. Russia has said that its future will mainly be a cooperative effort with the Chinese space program rather than NASA.
The Russian state media has said that 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.
“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 (Russian State Media).
The NBC reported that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Tuesday afternoon that the agency plans to continue operating the orbiting outpost through the end of the decade.
“NASA is committed to the safe operation of the International Space Station through 2030, and is coordinating with our partners,” Nelson said in a statement. “NASA has not been made aware of decisions from any of the partners, though we are continuing to build future capabilities to assure our major presence in low-Earth orbit.”
