Is the International Space Station (ISS) at risk of becoming a collateral casualty of the crisis between Moscow and the West in the aftermath of Russia’s offensive into Ukraine on February 24? Although space remains one of the last areas of Russian-American cooperation, it is clear that the conflict is gradually spreading in this area as well. Which raises questions about the possibility of a “catastrophe” at the station, now occupied by four Americans, a German and two Russians.
In any case, this is the threat that Vladimir Putin’s country has been strenuously brandishing for several days now. The head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, thus confirmed this Saturday that Western sanctions could cause the ISS to fall. A way to demand the abolition of these repressions, which are placing a heavy burden on the Russian economy.
According to Dmitry Rogozin, this will really affect the power supply of the Russian segment of the station, which is used, in particular, to correct the orbit of the orbital structure. And it is not for nothing that crews and supplies are delivered there by Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo spacecraft. However, the launcher required for the exit of these ships is “under US sanctions from 2021 and under EU and Canadian sanctions from 2022,” Dmitry Rogozin complained. Therefore, the inability to conduct these operations, which are carried out on average eleven times a year (including to prevent space debris), could lead to “the landing or landing of the ISS weighing 500 tons,” he warned.
Russia safe from possible collapse, Moscow says
The one who was prime minister, oversaw the space industry for more than a decade and regularly beats with his provocative statements, thus warned Westerners about the consequences of a possible incident. Because Russia would be “pretty much safe” if the device fell, he argued, posting a map of the world where it could be damaged.
“The population of other countries, especially those ruled by the dogs of war [les Occidentaux, ndlr] you should think about the cost of sanctions against Roskosmos,” he wrote, calling those who introduced them “crazy”.
From the very beginning of the conflict, Dmitry Rogozin warned of catastrophic consequences in a series of tweets:
“You want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS? This is what you are already doing by restricting exchanges between our astronauts and astronaut training centers. Or do you want to manage the ISS yourself? Maybe President Biden does not know, so explain to him that the correction of the station’s orbit, his avoidance of dangerous encounters with space debris, with which your talented businessmen polluted an orbit close to Earth, is carried out exclusively by the engines of the Russian Progress MS dry cargo ships. If cooperation with us is blocked, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the USA or Europe? “, he wrote on the social network on the morning of February 24.
In this tense environment, NASA said on March 1 that it was working on solutions to keep the station in orbit without Russian help.
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Frozen scientific collaboration
Outside the ISS, the entire cosmic realm is turned upside down. In early March, Roscosmos, in particular, announced its intention to prioritize the creation of military satellites in connection with the growing isolation of Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine. Dmitry Rogozin also announced that Moscow would no longer supply American Atlas and Antares rocket engines to the United States.
“Let them soar into space on their brooms,” he commented.
In addition, the ExoMars program, whose Rosalind Franklin rover was supposed to take off in 2022, has been postponed indefinitely. Roscosmos also stopped its commercial programs with countries that have imposed sanctions, including the UK, which was supposed to put OneWeb constellation satellites into orbit using a Soyuz launch vehicle.
More generally, all scientific cooperation failed after the Russian advance into Ukraine. In particular, CNRS has suspended any cooperation with Russia, while CERN has distanced itself.
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latribune.fr
March 12, 2022, 11:05