Following a warning to leave the International Space Station (ISS) platform by 2024, Russia has now postponed the plan until at least 2028.
In a statement, Nasa confirmed, “The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA (European Space Agency) have confirmed they will support continued space station operations through 2030 and Russia has confirmed it will support continued station operations through 2028.”
“Extending our time aboard this amazing platform allows us to reap the benefits of more than two decades of experiments and technology demonstrations, as well as continue to materialize even greater discovery to come.” Robyn Gatens, director of the ISS division at Nasa said.
Russia warning to leave ISS
There are several potential reason for Russia's threat to leave the space programme:
1. The Kremlin's warning was perceived as an retaliation against the US sanctions imposed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
2. Russia intends to launch a space station of its own. It is preparing to construct its own space station and put it into orbit by 2030.
3. The Cold War-era space competition is starting up once more. Roscosmos is getting ready to take the helm of its own space missions and collaborate with other nations on them. Russia and China declared they will collaborate in lunar space mission.
International Space Station
{{/usCountry}}3. The Cold War-era space competition is starting up once more. Roscosmos is getting ready to take the helm of its own space missions and collaborate with other nations on them. Russia and China declared they will collaborate in lunar space mission.
International Space Station
{{/usCountry}}The International Space Station has been visited by 266 people from 20 countries since its inauguration in 1998. The space station is a research platform where crew members conduct experiments across different disciplines and demonstrate technology that would be impossible to perform on Earth.