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| Russia Abandons ISS Project And Plans to Build Its Own Space Station |
Moscow - Russia decided to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024. The decision was conveyed directly by the newly appointed head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) Yuri Borisov to President Vladimir Putin .
Quoted from The Washington Post, Borisov told Putin: "We will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made.
On that occasion, Borisov revealed that his party had set a target to launch its own space station project. Borisov acknowledged that Russia's space industry is struggling because it also needs to replace a lot of foreign technology that is no longer available due to sanctions. "I see that my main task, together with my colleagues, is not to lower, but to raise standards, and, first of all, to provide the Russian economy with the necessary space services," Borisov said.
Navigation, communication (services), data transmission, meteorology, geodetic information, and so on," he added. Quoted from TASS, as it exits the ISS in 2024, Russia will begin to develop the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS).
According to Borisov, it will be a top priority for domestic manned cosmonauts. "I think, at that point, we will start putting together a Russian orbital station," the Russian space boss said. The decision to create Russia's own orbital outpost was made in 2021, and by May 2022, Roscosmos had signed a contract with Russia's Energia Space Rocket Company to manufacture the first basic module for the station.
Putin also gave a brief response to the plan. "Good," he was quoted as saying by the BBC. The United States and Russia, along with other partners, have worked together successfully on the ISS since 1998. But relations have deteriorated since Russia invaded Ukraine, and Russia has previously threatened to quit the project because of Western sanctions against it.
The ISS is a joint project involving five space agencies - it has been orbiting around the Earth since 1998 and has been used to conduct thousands of scientific experiments. The station was approved to operate until 2024, but the US wants to extend it for another six years with the approval of all partners.