Russian space officials expect to remain part of International Space Station till 2028: Report

News agency Reuters reported that Russian space officials have told their American counterparts that Moscow expects to remain a part of the International Space Station (ISS) until at least 2028 when their own outpost in orbit is built.

NASA’s space operations chief, Kathy Lueders told the news agency,“We’re not getting any indication at any working level that anything’s changed.”

Surprising NASA by announcing that Moscow intended to end the longstanding space station partnership, the country’s new space chief said that Russia’s space agency Roscosmos will focus on building its own orbiting outpost.

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Amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over the fighting in Ukraine, the International Space Station is now one of the last areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Complaining that the wear and tear on the ageing International Space Station is compromising safety and could make it difficult to extend its lifespan, Russia has expressed a desire to launch its own space station.

The Russian space agency lost a major source of income with Elon Musk’s SpaceX company now flying NASA astronauts to and from the space station.

The International Space Station, which consists of two main sections, is a $100 billion-plus complex that is about as long as a football field with three Russians on board currently.

Although US space agency NASA says it can remain operational until at least 2030, the ISS is due to be retired after 2024.

Following their Space Race competition during the Cold War, the ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of hope for US-Russia cooperation.

(With inputs from agencies)

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