UK Space Academy Chief Says Building ISS Without Russia Would Have Been Impossible

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) could not have built the International Space Station without Russia, Anu Ojha, director of the UK National Space Academy, said on Friday.

"Nasa and Esa could not have built the space station without Russian expertise," Ojha was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

According to him, Russian scientists are masters in building modular space stations.

Russian state space agency Roscosmos previously announced the country's plans to withdraw from the ISS project starting 2025 and create a national orbital station. On Wednesday, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin told reporters that after the deadline Russia may transfer responsibility for its segment of the ISS to the US and is starting negotiations with them.

Fifteen countries participate in the ISS project. The main partners are Russia, the US, Canada, Japan and the European Space Agency.