The news agency Sputnik is reporting that Russia will exit the International Space Station (ISS) initiative in 2025 and will inform its international partners about that decision, this according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov.
According to the Rossiya 1 TV channel, the decision to withdraw was made during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 12. Per the TV channel, during the meeting it was also agreed that Russia will create its own space station. The Russian space agency Roscosmos told Sputnik that the ISS modules had reached the end of its service life.
Launched in 1998, the ISS is joint initiative between Russia, Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan.
“We have a deadline for our work at the station, agreed upon with our ISS partners, 2024. After that deadline, a decision will be made, based on the technical condition of the station’s modules, which are by and large worn out, as well as our plans about deploying a national next-generation orbital service station,” Roscosmos said.