| Translate This News In |
|---|
Despite the fact that Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has aroused outrage and prompted a slew of sanctions, NASA says it is doubtful that it would have an impact on the country’s long-standing space collaborations. According to Space.com, the US space agency has stated that civil collaboration between the US and Russia in space will continue.
The ISS is run jointly by NASA and Roscosmos, Russia’s federal space corporation. Two Russian cosmonauts, one European astronaut, and four Americans presently work aboard the orbiting space lab. The US imposed sanctions “on what can be exported to Russia” when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In an emailed comment to Space.com, NASA spokesperson Joshua Finch stated, “NASA continues to work with all of our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the continued safe operations of the International Space Station.”
“The new export restrictions will allow the US and Russia to continue their civil space cooperation. The agency’s commitment to keep in-orbit and ground-based operations going is unlikely to change.” It’s been added to the list now. In a public, televised statement, President Joe Biden came out against the additional punishments. “Over half of Russia’s high-tech imports are expected to be blocked. Improving their military will be challenging for them. As a result, their aircraft industry and space programme will suffer.” That is Biden’s attitude.
Despite the fact that his statements did not specifically address the two countries’ space collaboration, Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin, according to the report, started a series of tweets highlighting the possibility that the new sanctions will stymie cooperation between the two countries. Rogozin wrote in Russian, “Are you trying to sabotage our ISS partnership?”
“Who will prevent the ISS from colliding with the United States or Europe if you refuse to cooperate with us? In India or China, a 500-tonne structure may be scrapped. Are you certain they’ll be there? Because the International Space Station does not fly over Russia, you are fully responsible for your own safety. Do you think you’ve got what it takes to take on this challenge?” Also included in the mix is Rogozin. Nearly three decades have passed since NASA and Roscosmos collaborated on the International Space Station.
According to The Verge, they collaborated on the now-defunct Mir space station, swapped seats on NASA’s Space Shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz rocket, and even collaborated on an Apollo-Soyuz test project during the Apollo era. “NASA continues to work with the Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to ensure safe and uninterrupted International Space Station operations,” Finch told the Verge in an emailed statement a few hours before the invasion began. “NASA and its international partners have kept a continuous and productive human presence aboard the International Space Station for more than 21 years,” he continued.
