Russia has formalized the extension to 2028 of its participation in the International Space Station (ISS). This comes after months of conflicting statements, fueled by political tensions due to the invasion of Ukraine. Today the head of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, sent a letter to partners United States, Europe, Canada and Japan, to communicate it, the Russian space agency itself announced on Telegram.
The document was sent "to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, ESA Chief Josef Aschbacher, CSA President Lisa Campbell and Keiko Nagaoka, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan," Roscosmos reports.
In the letter, Borisov states that "the ISS program is the largest and most successful international project in the field of space, and I am pleased that such a unique laboratory will continue its work and contribute to the realization of the most daring ideas of humanity in space exploration."
The relationship of collaboration with the partners of the ISS had begun to falter a year ago, in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine. The former head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, initially said that Russia's participation would continue only with a complete and unconditional lifting of sanctions imposed on Russia. A few days later, he declared that participation was guaranteed until 2024 and that, in the event of a revocation, Russia would give adequate notice to its partners. In recent months, the new head of the Russian space agency, Yuri Borisov, had announced that the collaboration could continue until 2028, at least until the launch of the future Russian space station. Only in these days came the decision of the government and the official communication to the partners.