Russia says it will launch own space station after leaving ISS

Russia plans to launch its own space station by 2030 after departing from the International Space Station (ISS).

The Guardian reported this week that if the proposal gains the approval of President Vladimir Putin, Russia will end more than two decades of collaboration on the ISS.

“If in 2030, in accordance with our plans, we can put it into orbit, it will be a colossal breakthrough,” Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin told Interfax news, according to The Guardian. “The will is there to take a new step in world manned space exploration.”

Eighteen countries including the U.S. and Russia have worked on the ISS since 1998, one of the closest collaborations between Moscow and Washington despite other strains in relations.

Last weekend, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said that the country plans to alert its ISS partners that it is leaving the project by 2025. Borisov said that while the country plans to create its own space station, other nations would still be welcome for a visit.

“[T]he station must be national. … If you want to do well, do it yourself,” he reportedly said.

The space station will also reportedly use artificial intelligence and robots as opposed to a permanent crew due to an expected orbit path that would expose it to higher radiation.

Russia is set to spend nearly $6 billion in launching the project, according to an unnamed source quoted by Interfax.