Following Russian attacks in Ukraine, Western countries have sanctioned Moscow, targeting several Russian oligarchs. Now, the only place for cooperation between Russia and these countries is apparently the International Space Station (ISS).
Pointing out the cooperation aboard the ISS, Dmitry Rogozin, the director-general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, said that the fate of the space station is in doubt, Associated Press reported. Rogozin reminded that the Western nations imposed sanctions on Russian enterprises in the space sector and said space cooperation would be possible when the sanctions were lifted.
Roscosmos wants sanctions to be removed
“I believe that the restoration of normal relations between the partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other projects is possible only with full and unconditional removal of illegal sanctions,” Rogozin said.
Three Russian cosmonauts wearing Ukrainian colors that are blue and yellow have recently come to the fore once they arrived at the ISS. A Roscosmos statement denied the views associating the color yellow with Ukraine.
NASA
Russia’s service with its cargo flights launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome to the space station could be interrupted due to the embargoes, Rogozin stated. Currently, there are five partners to operate the International Space Station, which are Canada’s CNSA, Europe’s ESA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, NASA and Roscosmos.
Rogozin uttered that the station could not be managed without Russia, saying it is the only country “delivering fuel to the ISS and correcting the station’s orbit” against space debris.
This is not the first warning from Roscosmos as the space agency said before that it will withdraw its support for the ISS if the U.S. continues to be hostile.
The ISS’ propulsion control systems
The football-field-sized International Space Station hosts astronauts for scientific purposes and its propulsion control systems are under Russia’s control by which the ISS is prevented from falling towards Earth.
While relations between the U.S. and Russia are strained due to the war in Ukraine, two Russian cosmonauts along with an astronaut of the U.S. aboard a Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
