Russia’s withdrawal from the International Space Station

Russia will not continue to work on the International Space Station once its current commitments to the project expire at the end of 2024, according to the newly appointed head of Roscosmos, the state-owned company that leads the country’s space program.

“Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision has been made to leave this station after 2024. I think that by this time we will begin to form the Russian orbital station,” he told Vladimir Putin. The President of Russia at a meeting.

The text released by the Kremlin was cut off after just one word from Putin: “Good.”

It’s too early to tell what this means for the International Space Station. US astronaut Kjell Lindgren told reporters at a briefing about research being conducted aboard the space station that the news did not change operations on board the spacecraft.
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“This is very recent news… We haven’t heard anything officially. Of course, you know, we’ve been trained to do a mission here, and that mission requires the entire crew.”