Posted on 03/01/2022 5:06:15 AM PST by 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.
For old times’ sake, from 2000, Beal Aerospace:
Engine Test Videos
https://www.bealaerospace.com/videos.html
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dypkzq/russia-halts-supply-of-its-rocket-engines-to-the-us
https://interestingengineering.com/how-are-spacexs-competitors-coping
https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/GettyImages-455597400.jpg
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
