Russia will withdraw from the International Space Station in 2025, the head of its space program said on Wednesday, in a move that would break one of the most prominent and lasting areas of cooperation between Moscow and Washington.
The United States and Russia launched the ISS together in 1998, which was seen as a major step in rebuilding ties between Cold War opponents who had spent more than four decades competing with each other for extraterrestrial supremacy.
The decision to exit the ISS, which orbits 420 km above the ground, could also jeopardize cooperation between Russia and the European Space Agency. Since Russia and the United States launched the initial segments of the ISS, ESA and space agencies in Japan and Canada have provided modules that have expanded the station and astronauts to manage it.
While their collaboration has rapidly survived ground-to-ground relations between Russia and the West over the past decade, there have been a number of clashes with the United States in recent years over their competing space activities. Russia’s decision to abandon the ISS within four years also comes as Moscow views China instead as a partner for its future space ambitions.
Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said that abandoning its section of the ISS would allow Moscow to launch its own space station by 2030.
“We are starting negotiations with our NASA partners, we are formalizing them now,” Rogozin told reporters. “It does not mean that the station will be scrapped and thrown into the ocean immediately after 2025. We will simply hand over responsibility for our segment to our partners.”
A framed image of Thomas Pesquet. French astronaut will join a mission at the International Space Station © AFP via Getty Images
This statement comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Western capitals. Last week, the United States imposed a series of new sanctions against Russia for alleged electoral interference and cyber attacks, while European powers condemned Moscow for imprisoning opposition activist Alexei Navalny and Russia’s large military accumulation near the Ukrainian border.
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, in a speech last week to mark the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first human space flight, called on Russia to “properly maintain its leading space status.” . . powers ”.
Rogozin said on Wednesday that Roscosmos was waiting for Putin’s signal to start work on an exclusively Russian space station.
“If we manage to orbit in 2030, in accordance with our plans, this would be a colossal discovery,” he said in remarks published by state news agencies.
The news of the deliberate withdrawal from the ISS comes after Russia signed a memorandum with China to build a base on the moon’s orbit together. Russia has previously rejected a US bid for Roscosmos to join a NASA-led project to build a similar monthly base.