Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Rescue Space Station If Russia Attempts Sabotage

Magapac.org ^ | 3-1-2022

[blam]

The head of the Russian space agency warned the International Space Station (ISS) is at risk of deorbiting and crashing if cooperation between the US and Russia in space collapses. Should the US cut off Russia’s access to certain space technologies needed to keep the ISS operational, the result could involve the Russians allowing the station to deorbit and crash.

No other than the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, responded to a tweet from Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin that read:

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or…”

Musk weighed in by answering Rogozin’s threat with a picture of the SpaceX logo.

pic.twitter.com/4kRJyp0FOv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

The billionaire replied to multiple Twitter users. One person asked Musk if this indicated SpaceX would keep the ISS from plummeting to Earth. Musk replied: “Yes.”

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Musk also responded to an editor of NASASpaceflight.com who posted a thread with a picture of what the ISS would look like without the Russian Segment attached and a SpaceX Dragon docked on the station to provide re-boost capability and attitude control. Musk said it was a “good thread.”

Good thread

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden laid out new sanctions that he said would “degrade” Russia’s “aerospace industry, including their space program,” among other things.

The ISS is a collaboration between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency. Presently, two Russian cosmonauts, four NASA astronauts, and one European astronaut live and work onboard the ISS.

Russia has already said it will pull out of the ISS by 2025. Roscosmos has already begun work on a new space station.

[HighSierra5]

I never liked the idea of cooperating with the Ruskies in space.

[daniel1212]

I expect that soon Musk will run for office.

[kosciusko51]

You can thank Clinton for Space Station Freedom becoming the ISS.

[Windcatcher]

Be very wary of that link! It tried to trigger an automatic download!

[BiglyCommentary]

Putin is getting CHECKMATED on all sides. Pathetic, his legacy of being some chess master thinker is in tatters.

[BiglyCommentary]

Its like having a business partner who is a criminal.

[Empire_of_Liberty]

Does it help him get to Mars? It’s an international pork trough. Let it burn.

[BobL]

“Be very wary of that link! It tried to trigger an automatic download!”

Saw that too and have seen it before. I reported it.

[Campion]

Once he gets starship working, at least the "launch" part of building a new and better ISS (US and our allies, NOT Putinazi & friends) will be well in hand. Three starship launches will have something (much) bigger and better than the current ISS in orbit.

[PIF]

Conversation (translated, reproduced):

ROGOZIN @Rogozin · Feb 24 AlzheimER'S SANCTIONS Biden said that the new sanctions will affect the Russian space program. OK. It remains to find out the details:

1. Do you want to block our access to radiation-resistant microelectronics for space purposes? So you already did it quite officially in 2014.

As you've noticed, we're still continuing to make our spacecraft. And we will make them by launching the production of the necessary components and devices at home.

2. Do you want to ban all countries from launching their spacecraft on the world's most reliable Russian rockets?

So you are already doing this and plan to finally destroy the world market of space competition from 1.01.2023, imposing sanctions on our launch vehicles. We know. That's not news either. We are ready to act here as well

3. Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS?

You're already doing this by restricting exchanges between our cosmonaut and astronaut training centers. Or do you want to operate the ISS yourself? Maybe President Biden is off topic, so explain to him that correcting the orbit of the station, its evasion of dangerous approaches to space.

The garbage that your talented businessmen have ruined near-Earth orbit is produced exclusively by the engines of the "Russian Progress MS" cargo spacecraft. If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling into the United States or...

[PIF]

Three starship launches will have something (much) bigger and better than the current ISS in orbit.

—
3 Starship lunches = 300 tons initially; later = 600 tons to LEO.

[Jolla]

Its like having a business partner who is a criminal.

The way this administration is doing things not sure which side is the criminal, maybe both.

[BiglyCommentary]

There is no law that says only one criminal is allowed at a time.

[butlerweave]

Scott Manley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V-lj-jCqe8

[SunkenCiv]

Over at Starbase the next generation of Starship is already starting to take shape while further rounds of testing are being performed on the last. Loads of great SpaceX Starship Updates with both Starbase 1 and 2 in Florida. Rocket Lab kicked off their 2022 launch campaign this week. There was something extra special about this The Owl's Night Continues mission, and it wasn’t even about the rocket. What have they been up to? United Launch Alliance unleashed the dominator this week, sending the latest GOES T weather satellite to orbit. We have another JWST Update, and Three Crew Dragons (missions) awarded to SpaceX!

SpaceX Starship Updates, GOES T,
Three Crew Dragons, The Owl's Night Continues & JWST Update
March 5, 2022 | Marcus House

[SunkenCiv]

Starship progress is delayed as SpaceX turns focus to Starlink over Ukraine. Ep 303.

SpaceX shifts focus from Starship to Starlink | March 8, 2022 | spaceXcentric

[MinorityRepublican]

Instead of allowing them continue to be proficient with their rockets which means they will continue to keep their ICBMs updated, how about a Marshall Plan for the Soviet Union? Today they may have an economy that is more like Poland. And we wouldn’t be where we are today.

[SunkenCiv]

Starship Launch Tower assembly jigs have been spotted at SpaceX's Roberts Road site, meaning tower construction is imminent. Also at Roberts Road, Hangar X expansion continues, and a new water tank has been installed on site. Meanwhile, Blue Origin's 2CAT facility gains another level.

Video and Pictures from Julia (@julia_bergeron) and Stephen (@spacecoast_stve), as well as Mary (@BocaChicaGal), Brady (@TheFavoritist), Jay (@jdeshetler) and Jack (@theJackBeyer). Edited by Jack (@theJackBeyer).

Script written by Adrian (@BCCarCounters), Chris (@ChrisG_NSF), and Ian (@IanPineapple). Narrated by Ian (@IanPineapple).

All content copyright to NSF. Not to be used elsewhere without explicit permission from NSF.

Florida Starship Launch Tower Ready to be Assembled
Cape Update - Narrated | March 3, 2022 | NASASpaceflight

• Elon Musk says SpaceX has started building a Starship launchpad on Florida’s Space Coast | Michael Sheetz | Friday, December 3, 2021

[SunkenCiv]

That last one has interesting drone vid of the Blue Origin expansion at KSC. There's nothing new that I saw regarding the completion of their big engine, which they're contracted to provide to ULA. One of these links has a pic showing a model of the engine, with Bezos and a ULA guy, taken in 2014.

• Increasingly, the ULA-Blue Origin marriage is an unhappy one | Eric Berger | 7/7/2021
• Blue Origin’s powerful BE-4 engine is more than four years late—here’s why | Eric Berger | 8/5/2021
• With further delays to BE-4 rocket engine, Vulcan may not make 2022 debut | Eric Berger | 12/13/2021