ISS could crash if sanctions not lifted, warns Roscosmos

The International Space Station (ISS) could crash if sanctions are not lifted, the head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, claimed. The sanctions by Western countries were imposed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

“The Russian segment ensures that the station’s orbit is corrected (on average 11 times a year), including to avoid space debris,” Rogozin wrote on its Telegram channel.  

“But the populations of other countries, especially those led by the ‘dogs of war’, should think about the price of the sanctions against Roscosmos,” Rogozin added. 

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Roscosmos has also sent written appeals to NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency with a “demand to lift illegal” sanctions against Roscosmos, Rogozin announced on its Twitter account.  

On March 4, 2022, Roscosmos halted the supply of rocket engines to the United States. The Russian space agency has also stopped servicing remaining rocket engines in the US.  

"In a situation like this we can't supply the United States with our world's best rocket engines. Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks, I don't know what," Rogozin said on state Russian television.