"The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made," said Yuri Borisov, who was appointed this month to run Roscosmos, a state-controlled corporation in charge of the country's space program
A photo provided by NASA shows the International Space Station in August 2001. The station was built as a symbol of post-Cold War cooperation between the world’s space superpowers. (NASA via The New York Times)
As the race to the moon receded, American and Soviet astronauts met and shook hands in space for the first time in 1975. The United States and Russia continued to work together in outer space, looking beyond their hostilities on Earth, culminating in the 1990s with the two nations jointly building and operating a laboratory in space.
The future of that cooperation grew uncertain on Tuesday as the new head of Russia’s space agency announced that Russia would leave the International Space Station after its current commitment expired at the end of 2024.
“The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” said Yuri Borisov, who was appointed this month to run Roscosmos, a state-controlled corporation in charge of the country’s space program.
The pronouncement came during a meeting between Borisov and President Vladimir Putin of Russia. Borisov told Putin that Russia would fulfill its commitments through 2024 and turn its focus to an unbuilt independent space station. “I think that, by this time, we will begin to form the Russian orbital station,” he said.
Putin’s response: “Good.”
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