Russia skeptical of International Space Station operations beyond 2024 under US sanctions
Russia's space agency Roscosmos said, "If we do not come to an agreement, this will affect the international manned space program". Read further for more.
- Science News
- 2 min read
Russian space agency Roscosmos is skeptical of its participation in operations aboard the International Space Station (ISS) after 2024 under the financial sanctions imposed on the country. "Now Roscosmos has permission from the government to operate the ISS only until 2024. And the issue of extending the agreement under the current conditions causes us skepticism", Roscosmos said as per state-owned TASS news agency. In a press conference, Roscosmos also said that it is hoping the US State Department to stop pressurising NASA and allow it to engage in a dialogue with Russia.
"If we do not come to an agreement, this will affect the international manned space program," Roscosmos added as per TASS. The world is witnessing deteriorating ties of Roscosmos with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) after the US and Europe imposed sanctions on Russia for its attack on Ukraine. US President Joe Biden, in his address on February 25, had imposed additional trade restrictions on Russia saying it would starve the latter of cutting-edge technologies and would "degrade" its space program. The ESA also said that it will implement all the sanctions imposed on Russia by its member countries.
US-Russia working together in the space station: NASA official
Kathy Lueders, NASA's Associate Administrator, recently revealed that astronauts of both agencies are so far working together as their relations have not been affected owing to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. “We are not getting any indications at a working level that our counterparts are not committed to ongoing operations. Teams are still talking together, we’re still doing training together, we’re still working together”, CNBC reported her saying at a virtual press conference on Monday.
The official, however, admitted that keeping the ISS in orbit without Russia, which helps in keeping the ISS in orbit, would be a difficult task. She even revealed that NASA is looking for alternatives for the job in case Russia decides to end its cooperation in the aftermath of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. The ISS currently has seven astronauts, two of which are Russians, four are Americans and one is from Europe.