Russia says it will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its orbiting outpost.
A senior NASA official told the Reuters news agency that Russia has not informed NASA of any intent to withdraw from the space station, despite Borisov’s comments.
Yuri Borisov, who was appointed recently to lead the state space agency, Roscosmos, said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia will fulfill its obligations to its partners before it leaves the project.
NASA and other international partners hope to keep the space station running until 2030, while the Russians have been reluctant to make commitments beyond 2024.
Borisov’s predecessor, Dmitry Rogozin, said last month that Moscow could take part in negotiations about a possible extension of the station’s operations only if the U.S. lifts the sanctions it imposed on Russian space industries.
Despite the tensions over Ukraine, NASA and Roscosmos struck a deal earlier this month for astronauts to continue riding Russian rockets and for Russian cosmonauts to catch lifts to the space station with SpaceX beginning this fall. But the flights will involve no exchange of money.
