The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — The head of Russia’s space agency has said Moscow will begin the process of leaving the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own space station.
Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said Tuesday that he had already submitted proposals on the future of cooperation with foreign partners to the Russian government and to the Kremlin, but declined to provide any details.
Russia has been a partner in the station since its inception, and its modules have provided much of the living and working space for the astronauts and cosmonauts who have lived and worked aboard the orbiting outpost.
Russia has long been unhappy with its partnership with the United States in the station, which was launched in 1998 as a symbol of post-Cold War cooperation between the two countries.
In recent years, tensions between Russia and the West have escalated, and Rogozin has repeatedly threatened to withdraw Russia from the station unless Moscow’s demands for greater control of the project were met.
The U.S. has said it is committed to the station through at least 2030, and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has said that the U.S. is open to continuing the partnership beyond that date.
However, Rogozin’s announcement makes it clear that Russia is serious about leaving the station, and it is unclear what the future of the project will be without Russia’s participation.
The International Space Station is a modular space station in low Earth orbit.
It is a joint project of five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
The ISS serves as a space research laboratory, an Earth observation platform, and a technology testbed for future space exploration missions.
The station is assembled from multiple modules, each of which is launched into orbit by a rocket and then docked to the station.
The modules provide living space, working space, and other facilities for the astronauts and cosmonauts who live and work on the station.
The ISS is the largest artificial object in orbit around Earth, and it is visible from Earth with the naked eye.
It has been continuously inhabited since 2000, and it has hosted astronauts and cosmonauts from 17 different countries.
The ISS is a major scientific and technological achievement, and it has made significant contributions to our understanding of the Earth, space, and the human body.
However, the ISS is also a very expensive project, and its future is uncertain.
The United States has said it is committed to the station through at least 2030, but Russia has threatened to withdraw from the project after 2024.
If Russia does withdraw, it is unclear what the future of the ISS will be.
The ISS is a symbol of international cooperation, and it would be a shame to see it end.
However, it is also important to remember that the ISS is a very expensive project, and it is not clear if it is worth the cost.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the ISS..
