Russia Will Leave International Space Station After 2024

The head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, says that Russia will complete its obligations before leaving the project

The new head of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos), Yuri Borisov, said that the country will leave the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024. Roscosmos wants to build its own space station and end the two-decade partnership between Russia and the west.

The previous head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, originally said that Russia would end the ISS partnership unless the US, EU and Canada stopped sanctions against Russian space companies.

An official from NASA said that Russia has not informed NASA that it wants to leave the ISS.

Parts of the ISS were first launched in 1998. Astronauts from different western countries and Russia have lived on the station since 2000. For many people, the station was a symbol of improved relationships between Russia and the US after the Cold War.

Roscosmos published an image of its plans for its own space station on social media. The plans say that the space station will, at first, accommodate two Russians. In the future, it will hold 4 Russians.

This month, NASA and Roscosmos made an agreement to continue providing transportation to the ISS for each other. They also agreed that the ISS will always have at least one American and one Russian on the station.