Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced plans to build a Russian space station in 2023 once the operational lifetime of the International Space Station (ISS) ends.

Putin said it's a distant prospect but necessary to improve the country's economy.

"We actively use it for science, for the national economy but at the ISS, we only see 5% of the territory of the Russian Federation. With our own station, we can see our entire great country. We will carry out this project and it will be fully under our control," Putin added.

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Since its launch into orbit in 1998, the ISS has been largely financed by Russia and the United States. Roscosmos head Igor Komarov announced in late March his intention to build in partnership with NASA a new orbital space station to replace the ISS, which is expected to operate until 2024.

Russian officials hinted at plans to separate the Russian components of the ISS and reassemble them into a stand-alone Russian space station.

Three months ago, Russia proposed the construction of a new space station for use by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, nicknamed the BRICS nations. It came from Russia's Military Industrial Commission, which is headed by Putin.

Since the Ukraine crisis began, Russian officials on several occasions suggested the country might build its own space station or build one together with China.

The Chinese are in the process of designing their own space station and have already sent astronauts into space.

Komarov described the future space station as "an open project" that "will feature not only the current members of the ISS."

China also announced plans to have a permanent space station around 2022, with the first orbiting experimental module starting in 2018.

TagsRussia Wants to Build Its Own Space Station, ISS, space station, Russia, NASA, space exploration