Russia will cooperate aboard International Space Station beyond 2024, confirms NASA

Each of the partners of the International Space Station (ISS) will continue working beyond 2024, NASA confirmed after a Multilateral Coordination Board meeting late last month. In an official statement released on August 10, the US space agency revealed that the meeting took place on July 29 wherein all the ISS members discussed the status of the combined work aboard the microgravity laboratory. 

The space station, which has been orbiting the Earth for over two decades, is jointly operated by NASA, Russia's Roscosmos, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). With this announcement, it has been confirmed that Roscosmos would not be able to quit the ISS after 2024, as was stated by it recently. 

"The board, tasked with coordinating the management of the space station, also discussed an extension of space station operations beyond 2024," NASA's statement read.

"Each partner confirmed it will continue to work through respective government processes on station extension and utilization beyond 2024."

[The Expedition 67 crew of seven astronauts (three Russians, three Americans and one European) currently aboard the space station; Image: Twitter/@astro_watkins]

Notably, Russia's continuation of the ISS partnership will release some pressure off of other members as Roscosmos plays a major role in keeping the outpost afloat. As many as six of the 17 modules of the ISS that comprise the main engine system are managed by Roscosmos.

NASA ends suspicions around Russia's exit from ISS

NASA has clarified that Russia won't end cooperation with the other member countries after 2024, rubbishing a statement that was given by new Roscosmos chief, Yuri Borisov. In a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 28, Borisov informed the former that the final decision to pull out of the space station has been made.

He recently also stated that Roscosmos would soon begin the withdrawal process and it would then focus on building its own orbital outpost, the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS).

However, Russia's exit from the ISS would not have transpired as per its targeted timeline since the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), which binds the members of the ISS, states that the exiting member must give at least one-year prior notice to other members. Besides, NASA also revealed that it never received an official notification from Russia about its withdrawal.

As for the ROSS, its first module is targeted for launch in 2025 and as the Russian Defense Ministry said, "It will become a top priority of domestic manned cosmonautics".