The International Space Station (ISS) will no longer be manned by Russia after 2024, according to an announcement made today . Russia’s space agency, Roscomos, announced it will be focusing its efforts to build Russia’s own space station. Officials cite outdated equipment and safety concerns as the reasons of Russia’s decision to depart from the ISS.
A crew swap agreement was reached between NASA and the Russian space agency less than two weeks prior to this announcement. This deal would entail two American astronauts would launch on a Russian rocket, and two Russian cosmonauts would launch in Florida on a US spacecraft. It’s still unclear at this point if Russia abandoning the ISS will affect the existing agreement.
The Russian Orbital Segment and the US Orbital Segment, the two components that make up the International Space Station, are interdependent. “The Russian segment can’t function without the electricity on the American side, and the American side can’t function without the propulsion systems that are on the Russian side” said former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman. In order to continue utilizing the ISS after Russia’s departure, NASA has been testing new techniques to maintain the ISS in its proper orbit without the need of the Russian Orbital Segment.
The United States and Russia’s cooperation came to an end, in the eyes of many, with Russia’s departure from the International Space Station. What effect Russia’s choice will have on the ISS’s future remains at large.
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