Russia, "Withdrawing from the International Space Station after 2024... Building Its Own Space Station"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Russia has announced that it will completely withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 and will begin constructing its own independent space station. Concerns are rising that the space cooperation system, which has been maintained so far, will face significant fractures as tensions with the West have intensified following the Ukraine crisis.

According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti on the 26th (local time), Yuri Borisov, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), reported to President Vladimir Putin that "the decision to withdraw from the ISS after 2024 has already been made," and "we expect to begin building Russia's own space station by 2028." RIA Novosti reported that President Putin responded to this plan by saying, "Good."

The U.S. government expressed regret over Russia's withdrawal from space industry cooperation. Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated at a regular briefing that "this is an unfortunate event regarding the significant scientific achievements made on the ISS, especially in terms of spaceflight cooperation, our new negotiations, and the valuable and professional cooperation in the space sector over the past several years."

Before and after the Ukraine war, the Russian government had hinted several times at withdrawing from the ISS, but this is the first time it has officially announced withdrawal along with plans to build an independent space station.

Meanwhile, NASA has announced plans to maintain the ISS until the end of 2030 and then replace it with a private platform. Currently, there are reportedly seven people aboard the ISS: four Americans, two Russians, and one German.

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