Future of the International Space Station Threatened by Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Resulting US Sanctions the best Astronomy blog for facts about the universe from IloveTheUniverse- I Love The Universe

The head of Russia’s space agency warned that new sanctions imposed on his country could have the potential “to destroy our cooperation” on the International Space Station.

After President Joe Biden announced new sanctions Thursday that “will degrade their (Russia’s) aerospace industry, including their space program,” Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said on Twitter that the station’s orbit and location in space are controlled by Russian engines.

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or…Europe?” Rogozin said. “There is also the possibility of a 500-ton 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?”

A NASA spokesperson told that it “continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station.”

“The new export control measures will continue to allow U.S.-Russia civil space cooperation. No changes are planned to the agency’s support for ongoing in orbit and ground station operations. The new export control measures will continue to allow U.S.-Russia civil space cooperation,” the spokesperson continued.

The International Space Station (ISS) is divided into two sections: the Russian Orbital Segment and the US Orbital Segment and is a collaborative project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency.

“The Russian segment can’t function without the electricity on the American side, and the American side can’t function without the propulsion systems that are on the Russian side,” former NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman told CNN. “So you can’t do an amicable divorce. You can’t do a conscious uncoupling.”

Future of the International Space Station Threatened by Russian Invasion of Ukraine and Resulting US Sanctions — The International Space Station is made of 16 different segments constructed by different countries, including the U.S., Russia, Japan, Italy and the European Space Agency. Under the ISS agreements, each country maintains control over how its modules are used. This includes the Russian Zarya, which provides electricity and propulsion to the station, and Zvezda, which provides all of the station’s life support systems like oxygen production and water recycling. Credit: NASA / Colds7ream, Fritzbox, Johndrinkwater, Ras67, Chepry via Wikimedia Commons

NASA has not responded directly to Rogozin’s remarks, but it notes that the US space agency “continues working with Roscosmos and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to maintain safe and continuous ISS operations.”

However, during a speech to the House of Commons on Thursday last week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson explicitly questioned the future of the International Space Station.

“I’ve been broadly in favor of continuing artistic and scientific collaboration,” Johnson said. “But in the current circumstances, it’s hard to see how even those can continue as normal.”