Russia says it will no longer co-operate on International Space Station as tensions hit space

dailystar.co.uk:

Russia’s leadership.The announcement, prompted by international sanctions over the war in Ukraine, is a major blow for the future of space exploration.

The space station needs constant maintenance to maintain a stable orbit, and without Russia's contribution could have to be decommissioned far sooner than originally planned.Rogozin said: 'Sanctions from the US, Canada, the European Union and Japan are aimed at blocking financial, economic and production activities of our high-tech enterprises. 'The purpose of the sanctions is to kill the Russian economy, plunge our people into despair and hunger, and bring our country to its knees.

It is clear that they will not be able to do this, but the intentions are clear.'That is why I believe that the restoration of normal relations between partners in the International Space Station and other joint projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting of illegal sanctions. 'Specific proposals of Roscosmos on the timing of the completion of cooperation within the framework of he ISS with the space agencies of the United States, Canada, the European Union and Japan will be reported to the leadership of our country in the near future.'The first ISS component was launched in 1998, and the first long-term residents arrived two years later.

NASA’s Mark Vande Hei holds the record for the longest stay on the station, spending 355 days in orbit, breaking the previous record by 15 days.The space station’s newest module, Nauka, was fitted in 2021, a little over ten years after the previous major addition, Several major new Russian elements were scheduled for launch this year, but have already been scrapped due to worsening international tensions.The end of the ISS was always.