The agency drew attention to the statement of the new head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, that his agency will fulfill all its obligations to partners
PARIS, July 27. /tass/. The European Space Agency (ESA) was ready for Russia's decision to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) program after 2024 and is now focused on continuing joint work on the station. This was stated to the TASS correspondent on Wednesday in the press service of the agency.
"The news that Russia will leave the space station after 2024 and build its own infrastructure is not new and was mentioned earlier," said spokeswoman Lorraine Conroy. "International teams, within the framework of the existing partnership, continue to carry out successful missions to the ISS for the benefit of scientific communities around the world."
The agency drew attention to the statement of the new head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, that his agency will fulfill all its obligations to partners. The press service also noted that NASA and Roscosmos recently signed an agreement on cross-flights of their crews to the ISS, which will "ensure safe operation in the future." The European Space Agency plans to continue operating its Columbus ISS module until 2030.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Director General of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced that the decision on Russia's withdrawal from the ISS project after 2024 was made, while all obligations to partners will be fulfilled. He noted that by the time the Russian Federation leaves the ISS project, the formation of the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS) will begin.
In April 2021, Borisov, who at that time was deputy prime minister, stated that the state of the ISS leaves much to be desired, so Russia can focus on creating its own orbital station. The Rocket and Space Corporation Energia was tasked with ensuring the readiness of the first module for the new domestic orbital station in 2025, it will be a scientific and energy module, which was previously supposed to be launched to the ISS.
At the end of February this year, Dmitry Rogozin, who at that time headed Roscosmos, stated that due to financial constraints it was difficult to simultaneously implement the ISS project and the construction of a new station. According to him, it is necessary to provide for a certain "overlap period" when the ISS and ROSS will be operated in parallel for some time. At the moment, the agreement provides for the operation of the ISS until 2024. In the spring, the state corporation and RSC Energia signed a state contract for the development of a draft ROSS project.
