Russia says its Space Station partnership will end after two more years

The head of Russia's space agency tried to use the partnership between the US and Russia in the International Space Station as a bargaining chip. The relationship between Russia and the International Space Station was left in an awkward state if the West ended its sanctions on Russia. The deputy prime minister replaced him. The US and Russia came to an agreement that would see Russian cosmonauts fly to the station in exchange for astronauts getting seats on Soyuz launches.

It might have been seen as a sign that the new administration was more willing to work together. Borisov said that Russia would not be renewing its commitment to the International Space Station. The station will stay occupied through the end of the decade.

Russia has supplied modules to the International Space Station, and its segments have solar panels that help the station's power budget. If it hadn't provided the thrust that allows the space station to maintain its position, it would decay. It's not clear what will happen to Russia's hardware when it quits the partnership.

The availability of Dragon crewed vehicles has made Russia's participation less important than it used to be. Russia will provide NASA with a significant amount of time to develop alternate plans that will allow the International Space Station to remain occupied through the year 2030.

Borisov told Putin that the 2024 date gave his country time as well. He thinks that by this time we will have a Russian orbital station.

That doesn't seem realistic. Western sanctions on Russia will make it hard for the agency to find paying customers for its services. Electronics and other high-tech components that are essential for a new orbital station will be hard to get for Russia.

The announcement removes one element of uncertainty, but there will still be many details that need to be filled in before we know what either agency expects to do.