Russia’s national space agency Roscosmos on Monday showed for the first time what a new space station built by the Russian Federation will look like, signaling that Moscow wants to stand on its own and is serious about ditching the International Space Station, Reuters reported.

Russia, in the midst of what some see as a historic rift with the West caused by sanctions imposed over what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine, is rushing to reduce its reliance on Western nations and move forward on its own or partner with countries such as China and Iran.

The West, which has accused Russia of waging an imperial-style war for its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, has hit the Russian economy with sanctions designed to deprive Moscow of technology, know-how and funds.

Russia’s national space agency Roscosmos unveiled a mock-up of the planned space station, dubbed ROSS by Russian state media, on Monday at the Army 2022 military-industrial exhibition outside Moscow.

Yuriy Borisov, who President Vladimir Putin appointed head of Roscosmos last month, said Russia will abandon the ISS after 2024 and is working on developing its own orbital station.

Russia has been on the International Space Station for more than two decades

Launched in 1998, the ISS has been manned continuously since November 2000 by a partnership led by the US and Russia, which also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.

NASA, which wants to keep the ISS in operation until 2030, says it has yet to receive official confirmation of Russia’s planned withdrawal and that it previously knew Moscow would continue to participate until 2028.

Roscosmos said in a statement that the new space station will be launched in two stages, without specifying specific dates.

What the new Russian space station will look like

At the first stage, a space station with four modules will be operational. Two more modules and a service platform will be added later, Roscosmos reported.

Once completed, it will be large enough to house up to four astronauts as well as scientific equipment.

According to Roscosmos, the new station will allow Russian cosmonauts to have a much wider view of Earth for monitoring purposes than they have in their current segment.

While designs for parts of the new station already exist, design work is still ongoing for other segments.

When the new Russian space station can be launched

Russian state media suggested that the launch of the first stage is planned for 2025-2026 and no later than 2030, and the launch of the second, last stage, is planned for 2030-2035.

The space station, as currently designed, will not have a permanent human presence, but will be staffed twice a year for long periods of time.

The former head of Roscosmos, Dmytro Rogozin, known for his sharp statements against the West, suggested that the new space station, if necessary, could also serve military purposes.