In this image provided by NASA, the International Space Station is shown with the backdrop of Earth. (AP/NASA)

MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Roscosmos state space corporation plans to make the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS) autonomous by 2021 by sending three additional modules to the station for that purpose, Roscosmos CEO Igor Komarov said Thursday.

"We have set the task of making us capable of separating and working independently in the Russian segment by 2021, that is, years before the period agreed upon by us on cooperation on the ISS runs out," Komarov said at a business forum in Moscow.

"To do so, we need to make and launch new modules, and I hope we will launch three modules in the next three years that will ensure autonomy in terms of energy, engines, communication, and the infrastructure systems of the Russian segment," he said.

Meanwhile, Komarov pointed out that he believed that international cooperation is still the more effective and better way for the ISS.