Russia to leave International Space Station after 2024

Russia will leave the International Space Station after 2024, it has said.

The country’s space agency will opt out of the project and instead focus on building its own version, according to its newly appointed boss.

Yuri Borisov, who was appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin that Russia will fulfill its obligations to other partners at the International Space Station before it leaves the project.

“The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” Borisov said.

Borisov’s statement reaffirmed previous declarations by Russian space officials about Moscow’s intention to leave the space outpost.

It comes amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West over the Kremlin’s military action in Ukraine.

Despite the rift, Nasa and Roscosmos made a deal earlier this month for astronauts to continue riding Russian rockets and for Russian cosmonauts to catch lifts to the International Space Station, with SpaceX beginning this autumn.

The agreement ensures that the space station will always have at least one American and one Russian on board to keep both sides of the orbiting outpost running smoothly, according to Nasa and Russian officials.

The swap had long been in the works and was finalised despite frictions over Ukraine in a sign of continuing Russia-US cooperation in space. 

Additional reporting by Associated Press