Star Wars: Russia Plans To Build Its Own Space Station, Ditch The West In New Cosmic Race

Russia has told the West that it wants its own space.

According to the Daily Mail, newly appointed chief of state space agency Roscosmos made the announcement July 26.

"I think that by that time we will start putting together a Russian orbital station," Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a report from the Moscow Times, referring to the space program the main "priority."

"Of course, we will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made," Borisov added.

Roscosmos unveiled a model of its proposed space station, which Interfax, citing an unnamed industry source, reported would cost $6 billion.

According to the Daily Mail, Borisov told Putin that the country's space industry is in a "difficult" spot and that he plans "to raise the bar." That will include "first of all, to provide the Russian economy with the necessary space services," he said.

The International Space Station, which was launched in 1998 by Russia and U.S. space agencies, had remained as one of the few things the two countries have cooperated on.

Russia's plans to withdraw from the ISS shows a furthering gap between it and the United States, which has enacted sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine began in February.

The Daily Mail reported that NASA spends approximately $3 billion on the space station each year, with additional funding coming from international partners including Europe, Russia and Japan.

The International Space Station has hosted 244 people from 19 countries, according to the Daily Mail. Among those were eight private citizens who paid up to $50 million for going there.