The head of the Russian space agency claims that the sanctions in the Ukraine war are affecting the operation of the ISS: the space station could crash.
Moscow – While the cooperation on the ISS at the beginning of the Ukraine war* was still an example of continued cooperation between Russia* and the West, the conflict has now reached this area as well. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia’s space agency and close to Putin, has warned that the International Space Station could crash. Rogozin also threatened that countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia would be particularly affected.
“Who could the 500-ton International Space Station crash on?” Russia’s space chief titled his Telegram post. Attached is a world map showing the space over which the ISS* flies. According to Rogozin, this was created by American astronomers to illustrate the danger for Russia in the event of a crash. In fact, however, the greatest danger is for “the populations of other countries, including those ruled by ‘warmongers'”. The Putin confidant was referring to the Western countries that, in response to the Ukraine war*, issued sanctions against Russia, which also affected the Roscosmos space agency.
Effects of sanctions in Ukraine war: Russia warns of ISS crash
“The Russian segment ensures that the station’s orbit is corrected (11 times a year on average), also to avoid space debris,” Rogozin said recently. The sanctions imposed have affected the operation of spacecraft from Russia, which primarily affects the area of course corrections.
The head of the European space organization Esa, Josef Aschbacher, had declared at the beginning of the Ukraine war* that “cooperation in civil space travel would remain a bridge”. Since then it has become known that NASA is considering operating the ISS without Russia*. The German Aerospace Center has also stopped working with Russia.
| International Space Station (ISS) | |
|---|---|
| Permanently inhabited since | 11/02/2000 |
| cooperation of | 16 states / 5 space agencies |
| span | 109 meters |
| Dimensions | Approx. 440 tons |
Ukraine war: Russia’s space chief calls for the end of sanctions
Russia had previously threatened the ISS to crash*: A video is apparently intended to show how Russia is leaving the ISS and how it will crash as a result: the Russian cosmonauts first say goodbye to their American colleague, the astronaut Mark Vande Hei. Then the ISS loses its footing and parts burn up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
In his current post, Dmitry Rogozin called for the sanctions to be lifted. He therefore addressed a written appeal to the space agencies of Canada and Europe and the USA*. On March 30, it is planned that US astronaut Mark Vande Hei, along with two Russian colleagues, will return to Earth from the ISS on board a space capsule from Russia. (vbu/afp) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
Category image: © NASA/dpa
