Roscosmos writes to NASA, European Space Agency to lift sanctions for space station's sake

The Russian space agency Roscosmos has sent written appeals to NASA, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to lift the sanctions imposed on it. The latest development was revealed by Roscosmos Director-General Dmitry Rogozin who called these sanctions “illegal” and added that the removal of sanctions is necessary for everyone’s best interests. "Roscosmos sends written appeals to @NASA, Canadian Space Agency and @esa with a demand to lift illegal sanctions from our enterprises - contractors of works in the interests of #МКС", Rogozin wrote in his tweet. 

In a recent Telegram post, Rogozin explained with a map allegedly prepared by American astronomers that showed where the International Space Station (ISS) might "splash down" or "land". "This map was made by American astronomers, arguing with me. But it just shows that it is Russia that poses the least danger of the destruction of the ISS. But the population of other countries, including those led by the "dogs of war", should think about the price of the sanctions they initiated against Roskosmos, the price of international space cooperation maniacally destroyed by the West. Crazy", the Roscosmos head wrote. Earlier, Rogozin had issued a warning to its partners that the sanctions might lead to the crash of the ISS if Russia decides to end cooperation in outer space. 

(Image: Telegram/@Rogozin)

West's sanctions against Russia

The sanctions Roscosmos is referring to are the ones that US President Joe Biden announced to impose on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In his address, Biden had said that the US is restricting supplies of advanced technologies to Russia which would ultimately degrade the country's space programs. The US has imposed strict restrictions on semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies. However, it is worth noting that US space agency NASA is still trying to be optimistic as it has stated that cooperation with Russia in outer space primarily aboard the ISS is still being made. 

The European Space Agency (ESA), on the other hand, announced that it fully supports the sanctions imposed on Russia by European countries and has halted all joint operations. The agency also revealed that it would not be using Russian rockets anymore and confirmed that the joint 2022 ExoMars mission is very unlikely to launch this year.