Russian space agency Roscosmos on April 20 expressed hope of launching its own space station into orbit by 2025.
In a statement, the chief of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said in a statement that the first central module of the new Russian space station is currently under construction. Russian aerospace company Energia aims to prepare to launch the module by 2025.
ISS is a project with the cooperation of Russia, the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan, but the main role goes to Russia and the United States. The first part of the ISS was launched into space in 1998. The ISS was originally scheduled to be “retired” by 2020, but has been extended until 2024.
After more than two decades, the ISS has encountered a number of malfunctions. Russia is concerned that incidents are occurring more frequently and wants to conduct a full technical inspection with the ISS. Recently, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov announced that Moscow is considering withdrawing from the ISS program by 2025 due to the longevity of the space station.
Russia has yet to make the decision to leave the ISS, Roscosmos said. After making a decision, Russia will start negotiations with its partners on the terms of cooperation after 2024.
