Russia Declares Departure From The ISS As It Looks To Build Its Own

Russia has just announced on Tuesday that it will no longer be a part of the International Space Station body after 2024 as it looks to forge its own space station instead. 

The space agency in Russia, Roscosmos, finalized the decision after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that solidified its plans to create its own orbital station. 

A post on Roscosmos’ social media channel gave a sneak peek into digital renderings for the new space outpost, which could house up to two astronauts at first before increasing to four.  

Russia’s departure puts an end to 20 years of partnership with the US. The ISS was initially launched in 1998 following the Cold War and was used as a meeting ground between both countries to cooperate. 

According to The Washington Post, NASA noted that it was under the impression that Russia was going to stay aboard the station until 2030, when private commercial space stations were set to begin taking over from the aging ISS. 

In fact, China has already begun assembling its own orbital post. NASA has also provided funding to four private institutions to develop their own stations, recognizing that the ISS cannot remain in orbit indefinitely and that commercial outposts will eventually have to take over. 

However, the report from the Washington Post suggests that sanctions imposed by President Joe Biden after the Russian invasion in February may have led it to hasten its departure. The sanctions were apparently detrimental to Russia’s space exploration programs and, in a sense, clipped its wings. After that, Roscosmos saw the next best option as being to leave the ISS for good. 

The relationship between the space agencies seemed to be doing well. Just recently, on July 15, both agencies agreed to place astronauts in each other’s rockets for launching. American astronauts are to ride aboard Russian rockets while the Russian cosmonauts will be launched into space via SpaceX’s spaceships. 

[via The Washington Post and The Guardian, Photo 185248290 © Dimazzzel | Dreamstime.com]