EXPLAINED
The story so far: After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia including a ban on transfer of technology and on Russian banks. Following this, on March 3, the Russian space agency Roscosmos tweeted the following, “The State Corporation will not co-operate with Germany on joint experiments in the Russian segment of the International Space Station. Roscosmos will conduct them independently. The Russian space programme against the backdrop of sanctions will be adjusted, the priority will be creation of satellites in the interests of defence. Roscosmos will not service the remaining 24 R-180 engines in the United States, and stop supplying the R-181. “
According to a Reuters report, this was followed by a statement from the head of the Russian Space Agency — Roscosmos — Dmitry Rogozin on Telegram, where he demanded the lift of the sanctions, some of which predate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the sanctions could disrupt the functioning of the Russian spacecraft that serviced the International Space Station. This could lead to the Russian segment of the ISS, which helps in correcting the orbit of the ISS being affected. He said that this meant the ISS could fall into the sea or on the land. He further said that the Russian segment ensures that the space station’s orbit is corrected to keep it away from space debris, roughly 11 times a year. He pointed out, publishing a map, that the ISS would likely crash down on some country, but most probably not Russia itself.
