Russia’s decision to abandon the ISS within four years also comes as Moscow looks instead to China as a partner for its future space ambitions. Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said abandoning its section of the ISS would allow Moscow to launch its own space station by 2030.
"We are beginning negotiations with our Nasa partners, we are formalising them now," Rogozin told reporters. "It does not mean that the station will be scrapped and dumped into the ocean immediately after 2025. We will simply hand over the responsibility for our segment to the partners."
Rogozin said on Wednesday that Roscosmos was awaiting Putin’s nod to begin work on a Russia-only space station, FT reported.
"If we succeed in orbiting it in 2030, consistent with our plans, that would be a colossal breakthrough," he said, in remarks published by state news agencies.
