The Russian space agency has stopped the launches of its rockets from the European spaceport in French Guiana due to the sanctions against Russia. The EU imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia this week, following missile and troop attacks on Ukrainian cities.
In response to EU sanctions against our enterprises, we are suspending cooperation with European partners in organizing space launches from the Kourou cosmodrome and withdrawing our personnel, including the consolidated launch crew, from French Guiana.
The European Space Agency uses Russian Soyuz rockets to launch scientific missions and the Soyuz at the Guiana Space Centre program has been operating since 2011. In the short term, this will affect the launch of Galileo navigation satellites, as well as other missions like the launch of the EUCLID telescope.
Russia has threatened before to remove access to its rockets in protest of the international community's sanctions. Russian officials threatened to stop allowing U.S. astronauts to launch to the International Space Station if the U.S. imposed economic sanctions. The United States had to use Russian rockets to ferry its astronauts to the station because the Space Shuttle program had been retired and the Crew Dragon capsule had not yet been developed. Russia continued to carry U.S. astronauts, and now the U.S has its own capabilities with the Crew Dragon.
The current situation raises questions about the future. NASA and other agencies hope to keep the station running until 2031 because the current contract requires the ongoing operation of the ISS until 2024. The end of the space station could come sooner if Russia pulls out of the project. The Russian segment of the station is provided with guidance and navigation by the head of Roscosmos, but these threats are not taken seriously.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
