Russia will opt out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country's newly appointed space chief says.
FILE - Russian space agency rescue team members carry U.S. astronaut Cady Coleman away from the landing site after the landing of the Soyuz capsule about 150 km south-east of the Kazakh town of Dzhezkazgan, Tuesday, May. 24, 2011. Russia will opt out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country's newly appointed space chief said Tuesday, July 26, 2022.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price called the announcement “an unfortunate development” given the “valuable professional collaboration our space agencies have had over the years.” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. is “exploring options” for dealing with a Russian withdrawal.
The Russian announcement is certain to stir speculation that it is part of Moscow’s maneuvering to win relief from Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. Borisov’s predecessor, Dmitry Rogozin, said last month that Moscow could take part in negotiations about a possible extension of the station’s operations only if the U.S. lifts its sanctions against Russian space industries.
The $100 billion-plus complex is about as long as a football field and consists of two main sections, one run by Russia, the other by the U.S. and the other countries. It was not immediately clear what will have to be done to the Russian side of the complex to safely operate the space station once Moscow pulls out.
Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who spent six months on the space station in 2014 and 2015, said a Russian pullout would be “a disaster” and send "a significant statement to the world that they are very undependable.”He said he’s especially disappointed that three of the cosmonauts he flew with in space are now in the Russian parliament, or Duma, supporting the war in Ukraine.
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