Russia will use International Space Station 'until 2028'
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A 2022 photo shows Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev conducting a space walk outside the International Space Station.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW - Russia said on Wednesday it planned to use the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028, an apparent reversal of an earlier announcement to quit the orbiting laboratory after 2024.
In July 2022, Moscow said it was leaving the ISS, Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, Mr Yuri Borisov, said Moscow’s participation in the international space project had been extended.
“By the decision of the government, the operation of the International Space Station has been extended until 2028,” Mr Borisov told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a televised meeting, referring to the Russian segment.
He said the “time has come” to discuss the creation of a Russian orbital station.
“Time is running fast, and we cannot take a break from manned space flight under any circumstances,” Mr Borisov told Mr Putin.
The ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of increased US-Russia cooperation following the Cold War “Space Race”.
ISS partners – the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan – are for the moment committed to operate the orbiting laboratory only until 2024, though US officials have stated they want to continue until 2030.
The space sector is a rare venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington since Russia sent troops into Ukraine.
Space experts say the construction of a new orbital station could take more than a decade, and Moscow’s departure from the ISS would deal a significant blow to its programme of manned flights. AFP
