Putin and Russia withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024: Elon Musk had this to say about it

This article was originally published on July 26, 2022.

Europe's largest country by land size has announced its intention to end cooperation on one of the key elements of space exploration and data collection .

What happened: Russia announced in July that it would retire from the International Space Station after 2024, choosing instead to focus on building its own outpost in orbit, as reported by the Associated Press.

The move came months after Russia invaded Ukraine and previously threatened to leave the ISS.

Tuesday's announcement comes weeks after Yuri Borisov was named head of Russia's Roscosmos space agency by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made," Borisov said. "I think at that time we will begin to form a Russian orbital station."

The launch of its own space station is not new information from Russia, but the schedule may have advanced due to international relations between Russia and other hostile countries due to the invasion of Ukraine.

The ISS has two sections, one operated by Russia and the other operated by the United States and other countries. It was not clear on Tuesday what will be done on the Russian side of the facility after 2024.

Related Link: Will the Russians leave the American astronaut stranded in space?

Why it matters: Russia and the United States have cooperated on the International Space Station for decades, with some pointing out that it is one of the last partnerships between the two countries and a post symbol -Cold War Cooperation in the Name of Science.

Experts are now questioning the possibilities of operating the International Space Station without help from Russia, a country that has played an important role in the project's success over the past few years. 24 years.

NASA hopes to continue operating the International Space Station until 2030.

Russia's move could be an attempt to trade off the space partnership with possible sanctions easements over the conflict in Ukraine. Last month, Dimitri Rogozin, then director of Roscosmos, said that Russia could participate in negotiations on an extension of ISS operations if the United States lifts sanctions against Russian space industries.

Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly points out the vagueness of the Russian announcement.

"I think Russia will stay as long as they can afford because without the ISS they don't have a human spaceflight program," Kelly said. "Cooperation with the West also shows a certain legitimacy vis-à-vis other non-aligned nations and their own people, which Putin needs, because the war in Ukraine has damaged his credibility."

Kelly, who spent time on the ISS in 2015 and 2016, said the design makes it difficult to pursue without Russian cooperation, but not impossible if it pulls out.

The Associated Press names SpaceX, a company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, as a potential factor in the decision.

Musk reacted to news of Russia's plan to leave the ISS with a two-word tweet.

Before SpaceX, NASA paid tens of millions of dollars per seat on Soyuz rockets from Russia to send astronauts to the ISS.

SpaceX is now a major NASA partner and has reduced the costs of sending astronauts to the ISS.

The ISS was launched in 1998 and has been a key element in scientific research and in testing future technologies for missions to the Moon and Mars. A crew of seven is usually present at the spa...