The assertion by the head of the Russian space agency of a possible fall of the International Space Station caused by Western sanctions against Russia is a “very symbolic display”, assured Saturday March 12 on franceinfo Xavier Pasco, the director of the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), specialist in space issues. He remarks, however, that the station’s program, “which has always been touted as the largest international cooperation in the world, finds itself in the spotlight in a somewhat disturbing way”.
According to the boss of the Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin, the operation of the Russian vessels supplying the ISS will be disrupted by the international sanctions decided by the West since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The station would thus be in danger. A theoretically true statement, explains Xavier Pasco: “The ISS loses a few tens of meters of altitude every day, so it must be raised regularly. This is done by using the Russian Progress vessels which dock with the Russian module of the station”. “In all cases, he continues, if we stopped this assistance, we would end up with a space station that would fall into the atmosphere”at the end of “some months”.
The specialist in space issues, however, invites us to take this announcement as “of the display”: “You have to remember that Dimitri Rogozin had already indicated, as early as 2014, with the first sanctions, that the Russians would stop transporting astronauts to the Station, he had invited the Americans to use a trampoline”. “He insisted that only the Russians had, at the time, the ship to send astronauts to the station, adds Xavier Pasco. Since then, the Americans have regained their independence and have been able to transfer their own astronauts.
“It was all a sanctions game. Besides, Rogozin himself is targeted by these sanctions, which is a considerable annoyance factor.”
Xavier Pascoat franceinfo
Russian threats do not call into question for the moment “technical cooperation between agencies”, says Xavier Pasco. “We still have people from NASA in Moscow helping with flight control.” The space cooperation sector is also preserved today, assures the scientist, while a crew composed of Russians and Americans is currently in orbit.
However, “Americans are starting to imagine Plan B scenarios” for the supply of the ISS, explains Xavier Pasco. “But it would take a few years to design a system that would allow, if the Russians left, to keep the station in orbit,” says the director of the Foundation for Strategic Research.