Posted on 02/25/2022 5:23:12 PM PST by blam
The head of the Russian space agency has just threatened the US and NASA with some serious repercussions if the Biden Administration follows through with sanctions that would impact the cooperation between the two countries in space.
Should the US cut off Russia’s access to certain space technologies needed to keep the International Space Station operational, then the end result might involve the Russians allowing the International Space Station to simply tumble out of orbit and come rocketing back toward Earth.
Russia is a key player in the 15-nation partnership that has kept the ISS orbiting Earth for 23 years, but bilateral ties between the US and Russia have deteriorated substantially over the past year.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden laid out new sanctions that he said would “degrade” Russia’s “aerospace industry, including their space program”, among other things.
In response to Biden’s sanctions announcement, the chief of Russia’s space program took to Twitter, asking whether the US wanted to “destroy our cooperation on the ISS.” Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin warned that Russian engines control the station’s orbit and location. Without them, the ISS would be in serious trouble.
One potentially disastrous result of the sanctions would be the “uncontrolled de-orbit” of the 500-ton space station structure, likely sending it tumbling out of the sky and falling toward the US or potentially even Europe.
“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the United States or…Europe?” he said.
“There is also the possibility of a 500-ton structure falling on India and China…do you want that?”
Back in North America, the message about cooperation in space couldn’t have been more different: NASA insisted that the new sanctions on Russia wouldn’t have any impact on the agency’s ability to manage the ISS, along with other collaborative space projects.
In a media statement on Friday, a NASA representative said the agency “continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station.”
“The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations,” they said.
The ISS is a collaboration between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency. Presently, there are two Russian cosmonauts, four NASA astronauts, and one European astronaut living and working on board the space station.
He’s right.
Are the Russians taking requests for crash locations?
oops...
I was just talking about this yesterday. Screw em. We should send a team from space force to evict the Ruskies.
Its a piece of crap anyways. Go ahead and let it go. Aim towards Delaware.
This is flatly hypocritical.
The russians have already said they wont be staying on the iss in the future and are working to create a new space station with china and others.
It’s true, they are moving to a new station. But that one still is kept in orbit with their rockets. They have no reason to keep them functioning if they are declared personna non grata.
So.... 2010: space odyssey was a prediction?
In the movie the two nations came together to go to Jupiter. In reality we came together to go about 100 miles.
Dam space station smells like vodka piss and Russian vomit anyway.
the onion or the Bee... right?
Sounds like an opportunity to field test certain satellite killer missile technologies after it’s been abandoned if it’s projected to land anywhere “sensitive”.
Which means nothing. It is like being scared to walk in a forest for fear of a single falling pinecone.
That is a ludicrous threat. When the space station hits the atmosphere 95% of a burn away and probably only something the size refrigerator will actually hit the United States and maybe kill a cat, dog, ore a random person. I’m more likely to die from a rabid skunk bite while swimming in the ocean.
“send a team from space force to evict the Ruskies.”
The US third world Woke brigade is not yet operational....
but it will be ready to send perverts to space any day now....
That doesnt change a single thing that I said.
They’ve already given the finger to the iss. They took specific steps to denigrate it when discussing the new project.
Its totally hypocritical.
Perhaps the ISS could target a certain mansion in Del.?
Bit it’s fun to watch ‘em set off the Chicken Littles!
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