ISS member countries seek to operate station at least till 2020 — Russian Space Agency
Heads of space agencies of the International Space Station (ISS) member-countries confirmed that the ISS would operate at least till 2020, Russia’s Space Agency (Roscosmos) press service told TASS on Wednesday.
They also showed interest in its further use, the Roscosmos press service said.
“During the meeting, the ISS partners confirmed that the station has the potential to be used for further manned space exploration. They noted the technical, scientific and experimental capabilities of the ISS. They agreed that cooperation within the ISS will facilitate its further operation for the sake of mankind,” the press service said.
Earlier, Roscosmos’ deputy head Denis Lyskov told TASS that the extension of the ISS operation for the period after 2020 depends on Russia’s space program.
However, he added that no task has been set to stop the ISS operation in 2020.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said earlier that Russia sees no commercial sense in taking part in the ISS project after 2020, because the station consumes more than 30% of Roscosmos budget.
Meanwhile, NASA hopes to continue cooperation till 2024, though no official proposal has been sent to the Russian side.
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