Russia's space agency recently announced that their collaboration with the International Space Station will end soon. According to a report by Business Insider, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin explained that their group's decision has already been established, and are not obliged to discuss further details publicly.
The departure of Russia's support of the space lab was disclosed by the chief this week on the country's state television networks.
Rogozin, who serves as the Roscosmos general director, also relayed striking remarks about the imposed economic sanctions by other countries, especially the Western allies, on their country.
Russia Pulls Out from ISS Partnership
he head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, attends a report ceremony for the crew of Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, his assistant Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin ahead of the launch at the Baikonur cosmodrome on December 8, 2021. - Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano, led by Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, will blast off to the International Space Station (ISS) onboard the Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 0738 GMT.
The update from the Russian space agency regarding their participation with the ISS team had been a topic of many discussions in the previous months due to the attacks of the Russian forces on its neighbor Ukraine early this year.
Last Saturday, Russia's space agency announced publicly that their country decided to leave the International Space Station. According to a report by Bloomberg, the withdrawal of the country was part of Moscow's retaliation against the economic sanctions given to them by major countries.
The sanctions were made by countries, including the United States and European Union, as a response to the furious invasion of Russia to Ukraine.
Reports said that the announcement relating to the country's departure from the ISS was relayed through two of Russia's state news agencies, particularly the RIA Novosti and the Tass. The update was explained directly by Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin.
The chief said that the decision over the matter has already been affirmed.
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Roscosmos' Independence: New Age of Space Race?
Rogozin reportedly said in the state television interview that "the decision has been taken already," and that they "are not obliged to talk about it publicly." The director added that, in accordance with their agency's obligations, they would soon relay the detailed information regarding the end of their collaboration with the space station within the current year.
Last April, Rogozin gave insights into the meddling of the Western allies in the conflict between Russia and its neighboring country Ukraine. During the month, the director already warned that the participating countries risk the partnership of Roscosmos on the ISS and its projects with NASA and the European Space Agency.
In a previous tweet, Rogozin implied that the relationship between the ISS partners, as well as the space lab's joint projects, would only be restored if the 'illegal' economic sanctions were completely and unconditionally lifted.
The United States, United Kingdom, and the European Union showed their opposition to Russia's invasion last February by imposing a set of sanctions on the Russian businesses, Moscow, the country's inner leadership circle, and even President Vladimir Putin.
The ISS had been conducting decades of astronomical studies with the help of Russian experts, and this connection kept superpowers, particularly the US and Moscow, to strengthen their relations despite the Cold War era's controversial 'space race.'
During the age of consent in space ventures, both the US and Russia aggressively participated in wide-scale projects that would put their flag outside of the planet first.
Despite the rough road, NASA intends to continue running the space station until 2030.
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