In the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of Moscow’s space programme has warned that sanctions imposed on the country could cause the International Space Station (ISS) to lose orbit and crash. Dmitry Rogozin, Director-General of Roscosmos, has warned that the ongoing sanctions against Russia will result in the ISS’s premature demise. In a Twitter rant, Rogozin claimed that if Russia did not intervene, the ISS would fall out of orbit and land in the United States, Europe, or even India.
On Thursday, Rogozin launched a scathing attack on US President Joe Biden’s decision to restrict high-tech exports to Russia, which he claimed was intended to degrade Moscow’s aerospace industry, including the space programme.
Another question aimed at the US was posed by Rogozin, who asked who would save the ISS from an uncontrolled descent and landing on US or European territory if the US blocked cooperation with Moscow.
He stated that there was a possibility that the 500-tonne structure would fall on China or India, and he asked if the US wanted to threaten these countries with that possibility. Rogozin also stated that because the ISS did not fly over Russia, all of the risk was borne by the others.
Rogozin concluded his tirade by urging the United States to “disavow” what he called “Alzheimer’s sanctions.”
NASA, on the other hand, dismissed Rogozin’s comments that US sanctions against Moscow over Ukraine could “destroy” the two countries’ collaboration on the ISS, according to Reuters.
The US space agency stated that it would continue to collaborate with all international partners, including Roscosmos, to ensure the safe operation of the ISS.
NASA also stated that the export controls would continue to allow US-Russia civil space operations, and that no changes to the agency’s support for in-orbit and ground-station operations were planned.
Despite Rogozin’s Twitter tirade, the two countries’ long-standing collaboration aboard the in-orbit research platform remained stable.
Both NASA and Roscosmos issued statements earlier this week stating that the agencies were working on a ‘crew exchange’ agreement in which the former Space Race rivals would share free flights to the ISS on each other’s spacecraft.
The International Space Station (ISS), which is 400 kilometres above Earth, is currently home to two Russians, four Americans, and a German astronaut.
