The new chief of Russia's federal space agency said Tuesday that Russia will not be a part of the International Space Station after 2020.
The leadership of the Russian space agency threatened to pull out of the International Space Station due to Western sanctions. The threats have been inflammatory, but they haven't been as definitive as the one made by the new chief. According to the Associated Press, the current head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, said that the station would be leaving after 2024.
"That is very recent news, and so we haven't heard anything officially," said Kjell Lindgren, a NASA astronauts currently on the International Space Station while speaking at the 11th annual International Space Station Research and Development Conference. The NASA crew-4 mission is commanded by Lindgren. "We were trained to do a mission up here and that mission requires the whole crew and so we continue to work every day to conduct the science and research that we have been trained to conduct," he said. "As a crew we continue to work towards success and that is everybody working together to make sure we accomplish the science and keep the crew and the vehicle safe."
Russia uses the space station for propaganda.
Scott Kelly, who flew to the International Space Station on three of his four spaceflights and spent close to a year on his final mission, believes the Russians will try to stay as long as possible. He thinks that Russia's announcement is more vague and open-ended.
I think the Russians will try to stay as long as they can afford it. Gives Putin needed credibility domestically and internationally. “After 2024,” is more vague, open-ended bluster IMHO. https://t.co/Jf0jpABg1sJuly 26, 2022
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Kelly traded barbs on social media with the former head of the Russian space agency after he posted a video of Russian technicians putting tape over the flags of the United States, Japan and other nations. The launch was canceled because of new restrictions.
It's not clear if the U.S. could maintain its facilities if Russia left the partnership. NASA plans to shift toward commercial space stations at some point after the end of the International Space Station program, but the partner agencies are only committed to operating the lab for another four years.
There are discussions to extend the life of the aging lab. The agency's administrator, Bill Nelson, has said that the station's tenure could be pushed to 2030. The station costs between $3 billion and $4 billion annually.
The European Space Agency, Canada and Japan have not commented on Borisov's comments. Borisov's remarks come less than two weeks after NASA and Roscosmos reached a long-awaited agreement to exchange seats on spaceships that will travel to and from the space station.
Borisov replaced the outspoken Rozgozin, who was dismissed on July 15 following months of inflammatory and controversial public statements about Russia's continued involvement with the International Space Station program.
It could be that the new head of the Russian space agency is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, who used the International Space Station for propaganda purposes, and that Russia is setting a hard line against the West.
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