Roscomos Cancel Space Station Project
Dmitry Rogozinof Russia’s state space corporation Roscosmos, has confirmed that the country will pull out of the International Space Station after 20 years of continuous international occupation according to the Financial Times reports.
It’s the end over 2 decades of cooperation in space, cutting significant ties between Russia’s space efforts and the rest of the world’s including NASA and the European Space Agency.
Negotiations
“We are beginning negotiations with our NASA partners, we are formalizing them now,” Rogozin told reporters, as quoted by FT. “It does not mean that the station will be scrapped and dumped into the ocean immediately after 2025. We will simply hand over the responsibility for our segment to the partners.”
“If we succeed in orbiting [the station] in 2030, consistent with our plans, that would be a colossal breakthrough,” Rogozin said.
Wear and Tear
After over 2 decades of research, the International Space Station is showing significant wear and tear. Yury Borisov noted to state news agency TASS that the space station’s “condition leaves much to be desired,” and that “reports of malfunctions have become more frequent in recent times.”
The news marks a new chapter in Russia distancing itself from the rest of the world when it comes to space research.