Russia To Quit ISS In 2024, Build Space Base In LEO

Moscow says it will extend participation in the International Space Station (ISS) to 2024, after which it plans to disengage three modules from the Russian segment of the orbiting outpost and use them to develop a national space station in low Earth orbit.

The plan, according to a Feb. 24 statement issued by space agency Roscosmos, is to develop a “Russian space base on the basis of separated ISS modules.” The new space station would be configured to incorporate Russia's multipurpose laboratory module, nodal module and scientific power module, leading to “a promising Russian space station that meets the challenges of providing secure access to space.”