Russia Says It Will Quit International Space Station

Yuri Borisov, the newly installed chief of Roscosmos, told Russian President Vladimir Putin the agency will quit the ISS after 2024, state-run news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported.

The ISS has been in orbit for more than two decades and is a joint partnership between Roscosmos, NASA and the Canadian, European and Japanese space agencies.

Borisov said Russia plans to instead focus on the development of an orbital station of its own, a project that’s operated on the fringes for years but has come to the forefront as Russia protests Western sanctions in light of its invasion of Ukraine.

However, Robyn Gatens, director of NASA’s ISS program, told reporters Roscosmos hasn’t told NASA about any change of plans and she instead sees Borisov’s comments as a look at what Russia’s planning for after the ISS ceases operations in 2030.