Russia Mocked for Cutting US Off From Its Outdated Rocket Engines

It's official. The head of Russia's space agency says he's cutting the US off from Russian-made rocket engines because of sanctions.

In a situation like this, we can't supply the United States with our world's best rocket engines.

The rocket engines that are in US possession will no longer be serviced by Roscosmos.

The US has an increasingly viable way to source its own rocket engines, so it was mocked for what was perceived to be an empty threat.

The Starlink internet-beaming satellites were deployed this morning.

The brooms are working, according to Jeff Foust, a senior writer for SpaceNews.

NASA has other contractors that rely on rocket parts as well. The agency has distanced itself from using Russian-made rockets in the past.

Ars Technica senior space reporter Eric Berger pointed out that the statements were full of bluster and that the space agency chief went wrong.

It is not the first time that Rogozin has lashed out at the international community. Over the last few days, he has made a number of controversial comments, as Russia invaded a nation in the background, causing a number of casualties and political retribution.

US president Joe Biden aimed a new round of sanctions at the Russian company.

The space agency head has made threats that have burned any remaining goodwill to the ground.

If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station from falling into the United States?

He is bitter about the whole thing. The employees at the Baikonur Cosmodrome removed the flags of the US, Japan, and the UK from the nosecone of a Russian-made Soyuz rocket.

NASA's existing partnerships with the likes of Northrop Grumman and SpaceX make the latest comments by Rogozin all political theater.

Over the last 30 years or so, Russia has shipped 122 RD-180 rocket engines to the US, according to a recent TV interview. Since then, a family of United Launch Alliance-manufactured rockets have been used to launch anything from the first US crewed missions into space to robotic missions to Mars.

The US has stopped using those engines for a long time.

In response to Russia's incursions into Ukraine, Congress stopped the purchase of RD-180 engines for the Atlas V, the biggest variant of the rocket.

The ULA continued to use RD-180s despite the legislation. ULA CEO Tory Bruno said last year that the company would stop buying Russian-made rocket engines.

Bruno said at the time that Congress asked them to end the relationship and not be dependent upon Russia.

The ULA's backup plan is turning out to be a disaster. The company signed a contract with Blue Origin to make a different rocket engine called BE-4. Blue Origin has yet to deliver any launch-ready engines to the ULA.

The US is ending its reliance on Russia thanks to the work of the companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX. The company has established itself as a key player with its Falcon 9 workhorse, which has delivered countless tons of cargo and almost half a dozen astronauts into space.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine marks a significant breakdown in US-Russian relations. Time will tell if the nations can pick up where they left off when it comes to space exploration, and if the rift will ever heal.

The US has established its own ways of reaching space and will likely leave Russia in the dust.

The hackers claim to have taken control of Russian spy satellites.

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