Moscow: Hitting back against European Union sanctions, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos announced on Saturday it is halting cooperation with Europe in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana. Roscosmos state corporation said it is withdrawing its specialists from the Kourou Spaceport and halting the launches of the Soyuz spacecraft from it in retaliation to the European Union’s sanctions, Roscosmos Director Dmitry Rogozin said. “In response to the European Union’s sanctions on our enterprises, Roscosmos is halting cooperation with its European partners in the organization of space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and withdrawing its technical staff, including an integrated launch crew, from French Guiana,” Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel on Saturday morning. The European Union imposed tough financial and technological sanctions on Russia’s 64 key agencies and companies, including the Presidential Administration, the Defense Ministry, Foreign Intelligence Service, other government agencies and defense, energy, aircraft and financial sector companies, according to a regulation published in the EU Official Journal on Friday. Russian space agency head Dmitry Rogozin had on Thursday warned that US sanctions could “destroy our cooperation” and said the ISS research platform would plummet to the Earth without his nation’s help. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also placed a question mark over the future of the International Space Station, where astronauts and cosmonauts of both sides live and work side-by-side. The ISS, a collaboration among the US, Canada, Japan, the European Space Agency, and Russia, is split into two sections: the US Orbital Segment, and the Russian Orbital Segment. At present, the ISS depends on a Russian propulsion system to maintain its orbit, some 250 miles (400 kilometers) above sea level, with the US segment responsible for electricity and life support systems. “If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled deorbiting and falling on US or European territory?” said Rogozin – noting that the station doesn’t fly over much of Russia. NASA responded with a bland statement emphasizing it “continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station.” UNI RN
