Russia’s new space chief on July 26 signaled his country’s intent to withdraw from the International Space Station after 2024, Reuters reported.
But according to Reuters, a senior NASA official said Moscow has not communicated its intent to pull out of the two-decade-old orbital partnership with the United States.
“Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision about withdrawing from the station after 2024 has been made,” Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director general of Russia’s space agency, told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
But Robyn Gatens, the director of the space station for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said her Russian counterparts have not communicated any such intent, as required by the intergovernmental agreement on the station, Reuters reported.
NASA has seen Russia as crucial to keeping the space station running, and agency officials are keen on keeping the partnership in place through 2030, officials have previously said.
