Borisov called premature talk about Russia’s withdrawal from the ISS project

It is premature to talk about Russia’s withdrawal from the International Space Station (ISS) program, declared Director General of Roskosmos Yuri Borisov in an interview with TASS.

Borisov recalled that now the only official document regulating participation in the project is the government’s decision to extend the flight of the Russian segment of the station until 2024.

“Therefore, it is premature to talk about Russia’s withdrawal from the ISS program,” he said.

The timing of participation in the program will depend on several factors at once, in particular, on the technical condition of the Russian segment of the ISS and the timing of the deployment of its own Russian orbital station, Borisov explained. The main task of Roskosmos now, the head of the state corporation emphasized, is to ensure the continuity of manned space flights.

Formerly Borisov allowedthat with a high degree of probability, cooperation on the ISS project will last until 2028. At the end of October, the extension of the operation of the station for the same period did not rule out and the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. As the Deputy Prime Minister specified, the extension of the service life is implemented based on the results of passing official procedures in national space agencies and governments of the countries participating in the ISS project.

In July, the head of Roscosmos reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the withdrawal from the ISS project and the development of a Russian orbital station. According to Borisov, the future of Russian manned cosmonautics should be based primarily on a balanced and systematic scientific program so that each flight provides knowledge in the field of space. In March, Dmitry Rogozin, then head of the corporation, warned of the “collapse” of the ISS until 2030: the station has been operating since 1998, and its resource is 15 years.

On October 31, Deputy Head of Roscosmos Valery Sherin announced reduction cooperation between the state corporation and NASA and an increase in the state defense order and civil orders. On October 4, the head of the American program of the International Space Station (ISS), Joel Montalbano, said that despite the recommendations of the US State Department, NASA retained its staff in Russia. At that time, Montalbano announced the ongoing cooperation between the two countries.

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