International space station, the Russians leave, NASA sorry: the story

Washington, July 26, 2022 – It seems that the news has arrived that NASA did not want to hear: Russia will leave the International Space Station (ISS) in 2024, after having “fulfilled all its obligations towards its partners”. The announcement was made during an interview with President Vladimir Putin by Yuri Borisov, the new president of the Moscow government space agency, known as Roscosmos. A bitter news after AstroSamantha was the first European woman to star in the spacewalk just a few days ago, together with her Russian colleague Artemyev. But NASA has not confirmed this. Robyn Gatens, director of ISS for NASA, said the agency “has not received anything official on the news released today” and added that Russia, just like the US, “is thinking about the transition” towards the future, which could involve the development of structures other than the Space Station. It is therefore not certain that Roscosmos’s decision is a new passage of the growing tensions between Moscow and Washington in the context of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, launched starting from last February 24th. Borisov, who took office for ten days, however, reported that the decision to leave the ISS “has already been taken”, according to what the Ria Novosti agency reports. Thus came the comment from the United States which, in the words of the State Department spokesman, Ned Price, deems Russia’s “surprise” withdrawal from the IS “deplorable”. John Kirby, spokesman for the White House, among other things judged the withdrawal as if it were not “a prudent move”. “For our part, we will remain committed to working with all ISS partners to ensure the functioning and safety of the mission,” he stressed. Read also: Samantha Cristoforetti and the selfie hoax during the spacewalk Russia’s motivations “You know that we are working in the field of international cooperation on the International Space Station. Of course we will respect all commitments …