Russia Grounds NASA Rides to International Space Station
While the National Aeronautics and Space Administration publicly announced it would continue cooperating with Russia over the International Space Station despite the international standoff caused by the invasion of Ukraine's Crimean region, the Russian space agency is now saying it may keep American astronauts from even reaching the orbiting laboratory.
Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's deputy prime minister and director of the space agency there, has announced that, in retaliation for sanctions leveled against Moscow by the United States, his agency likely halt the taxi service to the station and back it's offered NASA travelers since the Space Shuttle fleet was retired in 2011.
"Essentially, the Americans want to clear us out of the space services market," Rogozin said, even though, as reported by the Washington Post, the U.S. only recently cut Russia a $457.9 million check to cover six seats on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, training and launch preparations, landing and crew rescue operations, Russian launch site support and limited cargo delivery to and from the International Space Station.
NASA announced it was severing a majority of contacts with Russia after the country annexed Crimea, but anticipated a working relationship for the station would be maintained.
That move followed President Obama's order that restricted America's dealings in some of Russia's largest sectors, including the financial services market, energy and defense.
"After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry ... I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline," a disapproving Rogozin, whose own financial assets will be frozen by the same set of U.S sanctions, said via Twitter.
Elon Musk, the head of commercial transporter Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, said he suspects the sactions, which have been directed toward several other Russian officials also, will have a considerable impact on Rogozin's assets.
Musk has publicly criticized a new Air Force launch contract with competing transport company United Launch Alliance, which uses rockets built by a state-controlled Russian developer.
Rogozin claims the U.S sanctions will indirectly affect the progression of Europe's space program because, in addition to providing passage to NASA riders, Russian rockets are also used to launch European satellites
"I am sick and tired of these sanctions, to be honest," Rogozin told journalists in Simferopol, Crimea, according to NBC News. "They don't understand that the sanctions will hit them like a boomerang."
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