Russia will stop operating the International Space Station (ISS) “after 2024”, announced on Tuesday (26) the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Yuri Borissov.
“We will certainly fulfill all our obligations to our partners” from the ISS, Borissov declared during a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“But the decision was made to leave this station after 2024,” he said.
“I believe that then we will start creating the Russian orbital station”, which will be “the top priority” of the national space program, Borissov continued.
“The future of Russian manned flights must be based, above all, on a systemic and balanced scientific program so that each flight enriches us with knowledge in the space area”, underlined the head of Roscosmos.
Appointed head of Roscosmos in mid-July, Yuri Borissov replaced Dmitri Rogozin, known for his rigid style and unbridled nationalism.
Until this appointment, Borissov, 65, held the post of deputy prime minister responsible for the Russian military-industrial complex, which also includes the space sector.
“It’s a great honor for me, but it also has additional obligations,” Borissov told Putin.
“The space field is in a difficult situation and I believe that my main task (…) is to raise the bar, above all by providing the space services necessary for the Russian economy,” he said, citing mainly navigation, communication and data transmission.
In 2020, Russia lost its space launch monopoly with its old but reliable Soyuz launchers and spacecraft after the arrival on the scene of SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk.
Russian-Western cooperation in space was also hampered by the offensive launched by Russia on February 24 against Ukraine.
Western sanctions adopted against Russia because of this offensive partly affect the Russian aerospace industry and put the International Space Station at risk because some supplies could be interrupted.
The Russian space sector has been plagued for years by corruption and a lack of innovation.
