NASA says US-Russia 'civil space cooperation' to continue aboard International Space Station
NASA's work with Roscosmos space agency to continue despite invasion of Ukraine
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NASA says it will continue to work with Russia's Roscosmos space agency aboard the International Space Station despite new sanctions against the country over its invasion of Ukraine.
"NASA continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station," a spokesperson for the agency told FOX Business. "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."
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NASA's announcement comes after President Biden warned on Thursday that the sanctions would "degrade" Russia's aerospace industry, including its space program.
"Putin is the aggressor," Biden said. "Putin chose this war, and now he and this country will bear the consequences."
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, export controls from the Bureau of Industry and Security will target Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors, cutting off the country's access to "vital technological inputs" and undercutting its "strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage." Items impacted by the new export control measures include semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers and sensors.
"Russia’s actions are an immediate danger to those living in Ukraine, but also pose a real threat to democracy throughout the world," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement Thursday. "By acting decisively and in close coordination with our allies and partners, we are sending a clear message today that the United States of America will not tolerate Russia's aggression against a democratically-elected government."
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The International Space Station is a collaboration among NASA, Roscosmos, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. It is currently home to four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European astronaut.
One of the four NASA astronauts, Mark Vande Hei, is slated to return home from the ISS on March 30 via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Upon returning home, Vande Hei will set a new American record of 355 consecutive days in space.
This Nov. 8, 2021, photo provided by The International Space Station pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour. (AP Newsroom)
The Biden administration had previously made a commitment to extend the International Space Station's operations through 2030.
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On Thursday, Roscomos director general Dmitry Rogozin slammed the sanctions in a lengthy Twitter thread and questioned whether the United States is trying to "destroy cooperation" aboard the ISS.
"If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe?" Rogozin wrote. "There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?"
Russia's Roscosmos space agency Director General Dmitry Rogozin looks on at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan July 20, 2019. (REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov)
In addition to his comments about the ISS, Rogozin claimed the U.S. is planning to "destroy the world market of space competition" by imposing sanctions on Russia's launch vehicles. He noted that Russia would continue to make its own spacecraft by "expanding the production of the necessary components and devices at home" despite the U.S. blocking the country's access to "radiation-resistant space microelectronics" in 2014.
A spokesperson for the Roscosmos press service told FOX Business that the agency "continues fulfilling its international obligations to ensure ISS operation" and that work is also underway on the "integrated crew flights agreement."
While NASA assured that the U.S. and Russia could continue to peacefully coexist on the ISS, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated during remarks on the floor of the House of Commons Thursday that the space station's future remains unclear.
"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."