“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?”
So read an ominous-sounding tweet from Gen. Dmitry Rogozin, director of Roscosmos, the Russian organization that partners with NASA to operate the ISS.
Rogozin was responding to new sanctions announced Thursday by U.S. President Joe Biden relating to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
“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?” Rogozin’s tweet continued.
Only one Russian cosmonaut is currently onboard the ISS, working alongside four American NASA astronauts and one European astronaut.
CNN reportedly spoke to a NASA spokesperson, who said they are “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 ISS is truly a collaborative effort, according to former astronaut Garrett Reisman.
“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,” Reisman told CNN. “So you can't do an amicable divorce. You can't do a conscious uncoupling.”
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