In January, when the United States proposed extending International Space Station (ISS) operations until 2024, the world was a very different place. That was before Russian military intervention in Ukraine, before US-Russian relations foundered and before Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin suggested that US astronauts use a trampoline to get themselves to orbit. Rogozin also suggested last month that Russia would stop participating in the space-station programme after its scheduled end date of 2020. That statement did not set official government policy, but given Russia's key role in the orbiting outpost it cast a shadow over hopes for the four-year extension.
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