NASA Says Russia Caused ‘Misleading Headlines’ About International Space Station

Russia isn’t planning to withdraw from its partnership in the International Space Station, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a Senate hearing.

In this photo taken from video footage released by Roscosmos Space Agency, Roscosmos' cosmonauts unfold a copy of the Soviet Victory Banner in World War II during their spacewalk on the International Space Station (ISS), Thursday, April 28, 2022. (AP)

Russia isn't planning to withdraw from its partnership in the International Space Station despite recent rhetoric from the nation's space agency, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told a Senate hearing.

Over the weekend, Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin suggested that Russia had decided to quit the orbital laboratory -- which has hosted research crews continuously for more than 21 years -- due to Western sanctions on Russia from its invasion of Ukraine. He said that Russia would give its ISS partners a year's notice of such a decision, according to Russian media reports. 

Nelson said Tuesday that the comments sparked “misleading headlines” indicating that Russia would leave the station, which uses Russian cargo vessels to provide altitude changes. Russia and the U.S. continue to work professionally on managing the station and NASA has had no indication Roscomos plans to end its role, Nelson said.

The station has 11 occupants currently, including three Russian cosmonauts. Russian flight engineer Oleg Artemyev was scheduled to take command of the station Tuesday as NASA's Crew-3 prepares to return aboard a SpaceX Dragon later this week.