International Space Station:
Russia will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country’s new space chief Yuri Borisov said amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over the fighting in Ukraine.
- Borisov’s statement reaffirmed previous declarations by Russian space officials about Moscow’s intention to leave the space station after 2024 when the current international arrangements for its operation end.
- NASA and other international partners hope to keep the space station running until 2030, while the Russians have been reluctant to make commitments beyond 2024.
- The space station is jointly run by the space agencies of Russia, the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada.
- The first piece was put in orbit in 1998, and the outpost has been continuously inhabited for nearly 22 years.
- It is used to conduct scientific research in zero gravity and test out equipment for future space journeys.
- It typically has a crew of seven, who spend months at a time aboard the station as it orbits about 400 km from Earth.
