Amid the confrontation between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine, Russian space agency will quit the partnership on the International Space Station after 2024.
This was announced on Tuesday at a meeting with Russian President Putin and Director General of Roscosmos Yuri Borisov.
By 2024, the Russian Federation will then begin to form its new space agency, the Russian orbital station.
“The industry is in a difficult situation, and I see my main task, together with my colleagues, is not to drop, but to raise the bar and, first of all, provide the Russian economy with the necessary space services,” Borisov said.
Co-operation on the ISS was halted in Russia back in April, in response to the sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the country’s Roscosmos space agency, said this was unacceptable and he resigned from working with American partners NASA and the European Space Agency.
He said sanctions would kill the Russian economy, “plunge people into despair and hunger and bring our country to its knees.”