Russia may leave the International Space Station (ISS) because of the sanctions adopted against the country for the invasion of Ukraine. The information was disclosed by the head of the Russian space program, the director general of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, in an interview with state TV on Saturday 30.
“The decision has already been made, we are not obliged to speak about it publicly,” he said. “I can only say this: in accordance with our obligations, we will inform our partners about the end of our work on the ISS one year in advance.”
Rogozin threatened earlier this month to end Russia’s mission unless the US, European Union and Canada lift sanctions against companies involved in the Russian space industry.
The orbital research space station was, until the war, a rare area of cooperation between Russia and the US and its allies, despite steadily worsening relations. But Russia’s unprecedented international isolation since it invaded Ukraine in February marked the end of this symbol of joint space exploration.
Three Americans and an Italian astronaut docked at the space station on Wednesday, joining three other Americans, three Russians and a German who were already on the ISS.
NASA, which plans to operate the space station until 2030, has continued to use the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport astronauts to and from the ISS since the space shuttle’s retirement in 2011.
The US space agency is now relying more on private spaceflight. Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched four astronauts from NASA and the European Space Agency on Wednesday.