 "Ukraine crisis: How US-Russia tensions threaten the International Space Station and why India should be worried")
Tensions between United States and Russia over the Ukraine attack have now spilled into space, with the Russian space agency chief warning that the Joe Biden administration’s sanctions could threaten the cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station (ISS).
On 25 February, Roscosmos director Dmitry Rogozin launched a Twitter tirade slamming US sanctions on the Russian space programme.
Notably, he threatened that Russia could let the ISS crash into the earth, in retaliation.
The statements have put the spotlight on the space station that has for long been a symbol of post-Cold War partnership between the US and Russia, and has largely been unaffected by geopolitics.
What is the International Space Station
The ISS is a space station-cum-research lab located on the low Earth orbit — precisely 400 kilometres above the planet’s surface.
Launched in 1998, it is an international collaboration between five partners: US, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.
Presently, there are seven astronauts aboard the ISS — four Americans, two Russians, and one European.
Measuring 109 metres long and 75 metres wide, the ISS is basically the size of a football field and is the largest man-made object in space.
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View AllAccording to NASA, the station has hosted over 250 astronauts and space tourists from 19 countries, as of December 2021.
What is Russia’s role in the ISS?
The space station is divided into two sections — the Russian Orbital Section and US Orbital Segment.
While the US looks after docks for spacecraft, Russia is tasked with keeping the ISS aloft using propulsion engines.
Thus, Russia has the control to change the location of the ISS.
US space agency NASA had convinced its government for ventures with Russia in 1993 — two years after the Cold War, as well as the Space Race, ended with the Soviet Union’s collapse.
The aim was to use Russian expertise and to make up for NASA’s funding cut.
US space venture’s dependence on Russia increased in the years that followed.
According to the website Space, since the decommissioning of NASA’s space shuttle in 2011, all the US space flights till 2020 have been carried out using the Russian spacecraft Soyuz.
In 2020, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to successfully carry out a manned mission to the ISS.
Impact of US sanctions on Russian space programme
On 24 February, Joe Biden said, “We estimate that we will cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports, and it will strike a blow to their ability to continue to modernise their military. It will degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program.”
However, according to the website Spacenews, the White House is yet to elaborate on the measures, though it is understood that the sanctions will deny Russia access to new technology.
NASA downplays sanctions
CNN quoted a spokesperson of the agency saying that “it will continue to work with all international partners, including Roscosmos”,
“The new export control measures will continue to allow US-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations,” it added.
As for Roscosmos chief Rogozin, he has received a reply from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022
The space entrepreneur replied with his company’s logo to a tweet in which Rogozin asked ‘who will man ISS if Russia pulls out?’
Washington had imposed sanctions on the Russian space programme in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.
Moscow retaliated by threatening to deny US access to Soyuz spacecraft though the move never materialised and cooperation between the two continued.
‘ISS could crash into India or China’
The Russian space agency’s chief had tweeted “there is also the possibility of a 500 tonne ISS structure falling on India and China.”
“Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, therefore all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?” he added in a tweet aimed at the US.
Space experts, however, have dismissed Rogozin’s warnings saying that as a government figure he is only trying to please the authorities with his rhetoric.
Writing for Asia Times, Strategy and Security Study analyst Wendy Cobb said that Rogozin is unlikely to follow up on the threats as endangering the ISS would also put the Russian cosmonauts’ lives aboard the station, in jeopardy.
What if US-Russia joint space ventures end
Even before the current Ukraine crisis started, Russia had announced plans to end its association with the ISS.
In 2021, the country said it might end its ISS operations after 2024.
The announcement came after China and Russia signed a deal to build a space station on the moon.
NASA, on its part, has been collaborating with domestic firms including SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the development of spacecraft.
But in both cases, the projects are in the early stages and are not equipped enough to handle the current missions.
With inputs from agencies
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