Russia will end its participation in the International Space Station after reaching the end of its designed life in 2024, a senior official has confirmed. Moscow is already working on a new station to replace the current one.
Moscow will “Report [partnering countries] on the withdrawal from the ISS from 2025, “ Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told TV channel Rossiya-1 on Sunday. He added that the country will consult with other countries on future cooperation once the station ceases to function.
The Deputy Prime Minister’s office told the TASS news agency that “Reports of malfunctions have been more frequent lately”, and an inspection of the ISS is required to avoid potential emergencies.
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Astronauts struggle to fix air leaks due to cracks that have formed in some modules. Vladimir Solovyev, the deputy head of Energia, which led the development of the ISS on behalf of Russia, said in November that several parts of the station had been damaged beyond repair and would be closed after 2025. Energia is currently working on Russia’s Orbital Space Station set to replace the ISS.
The first element of the ISS was launched in 1998. The lifespan of the station was eventually extended to 2020 and later to 2024.
The head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said last year that Progress cargo spacecraft will take it out of orbit after the ISS stops functioning. The ISS will then descend into the ocean in the same way that the Russian space station Mir did in 2001.
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