Russia decides when to withdraw from the International Space Station

Russia has decided on the timing of its withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) and will give its partners a year’s notice, the director of the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) Dmitry Rogozin said on April 30.

In an interview with Rossiya-24 TV channel, the head of Russia’s space agency said that although the time frame has been decided, the authorities “have no obligation to disclose it publicly”.

Earlier, Rogozin said that Western sanctions against Russia after Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine prevented Roscosmos from carrying out “routine work” with the US and other countries on the ISS.

In the interview, Mr. Rogozin said that the terms of Russia’s operation on the ISS are decided by the Russian government and president, and Roscosmos is now allowed to continue operating on the ISS until 2024.

“I can only say one thing: under our obligations, we will notify our partners one year in advance of the end of work on the ISS.”Mr. Rogozin said.

Rogozin also said that during the remaining time on the ISS, Russia will demonstrate its readiness to deploy the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS). According to the head of Roscosmos, ROSS will be a multifunctional station and development plans are already underway.

“We will start creating ‘smart hardware’ and prepare to launch it into space for station deployment,” he said. Mr. Rogozin said.

Previously, Director Roscosmos predicted that the ISS, where NASA plans to operate until 2030, would “disintegrate” apart by that time if not “huge amount of money” is invested in the repair of the station. However, in the current geopolitical situation, the ISS is no longer effective for Russia.

In mid-March, Rogozin said that the “hostile” geopolitical situation could force Russia to turn the ROSS station into a military-capable space station.