According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Russian Space Agency Director Rogozin said that he has sent letters to the space departments of the United States, Europe and Canada, asking them to reply by March 30 whether to stop sanctions against the Russian Space Group, and after receiving the reply, Russia will decide whether to continue cooperation on the International Space Station.
This is Russia's naked "blackmail" of the United States, Rogozin's subtext is that if the United States and Europe still "chase and block" Russian airlines, then Russia can only pick and choose - the International Space Station will face the risk of falling at any time!
"Slap a slap to a date" Russia played a very good game, so while putting pressure on NASA in the United States, the Russian Space Agency issued a notice on March 14 that the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft would return to Earth on March 30, and the remaining one of the 3 astronauts on board was the American Van Der Hai.
Previously, the Internet rumored that Van der Hai would be "stranded" on the space station by Russia, so some people speculated that Russia and the United States may have made some kind of compromise.
In fact, this is the fourth confrontation between the Russian Space Agency and NASA since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. On February 25, Russian Rogozin made the first harsh remark on Twitter, saying that if the United States continues to sanction Russia, the International Space Station will lose its cooperation significance, and Russia has the ability to let the space station fall.
Finally, Rogozin did not forget to sneer slightly: Don't forget, the engine of the International Space Station is controlled by the Russian Space Agency, and the orbit and position of the space station are decided by Russia.
On March 3, Rogozin again told the media that Russia no longer provides RD-180 rocket engines to the United States, nor does it provide maintenance services for engines that have not yet been used. The RD-180 rocket engine is currently one of the most advanced rocket engines in the world, with the advantages of full power, high stability and low cost.
NASA spent more than a billion dollars to buy 122 RD-180s from Russia, of which 98 are already in use, and the remaining 24 will last until 2025 at most. At that time, if the United States has not found an engine to match the D-180, there will be no engine available, and several key space programs will be greatly delayed.
After the International Space Station is no longer cooperating? Russia has long been home to some bureaus
The International Space Station is a behemoth weighing about 420 tons and operating in an orbit 400 kilometers above the ground, jointly built by 16 countries including the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan, and was officially built in 1998 and completely completed in 2010.
So far, the International Space Station has invested more than $160 billion, of which the United States has spent the most, about $130 billion; Russia ranks second, taking more than $12 billion, which also causes the International Space Station to be dominated by the United States and Russia.
However, in actual operation, Russia is suppressed by the United States everywhere, resulting in the inability to carry out many experimental projects led by Russia, but the maintenance of the space station falls on the heads of Russian astronauts!
Since 2015, Russia has repeatedly discussed with the United States about the separation of the International Space Station, but the United States has refused for various reasons, but Russia has privately made a lot of preparations for the separation.
In 2021, Russia successfully launched the Science multi-functional experimental module, which is the largest cabin in Russia, with all the functions of the life module, service module and cargo compartment, and is a small space station. More critically, Science is equipped with a separate solar panel and power system, which compensates for the dilemma that the Zozozo and Aurora power systems are controlled by the United States.
In a documentary filmed by the media celebrating the 75th anniversary of energy rocket space companies, an orbital space station appeared, and the core module was the science multifunctional module. According to the description in the documentary, in 2025, a functional module and a node module will be added to the Science module, culminating in the construction of a separate space station. The space station will support Russia's later deep space exploration and manned lunar landing projects.
The International Space Station is no longer cooperating, and the greatest losses may be the United States
The reason why the space station once it leaves Russia, the biggest loss may be the United States, because Russia has mastered several key modules of the space station. Russia controls the modules of the Dawn function module, the Zvezda service module, the search ship, the Dawn two small research modules and the final launch of the Science multi-function module, accounting for about 1/5 of the total number of the International Space Station, the importance of which is self-evident.
The Aurora functional module was the first component of the International Space Station, funded by the United States and built by Russia. This module provides the space station with the most basic functions of power, propulsion, navigation, communication, attitude control, temperature control, and pressure charging, and the initial orbit change and operation of the space station are responsible for The Dawn. If this is paralyzed, the International Space Station communication system may fail in an instant.
The Zvezda service module is the core of the International Space Station, which is divided into a work area, a rest area, and is also equipped with a number of functional equipment such as dehumidifiers, oxygen generators, CO2 filters, etc., which is the basis for astronauts to survive.
What's more, it was also loaded with 16 attitude engines, two S5.79 large main engines, equipped with four fuel tanks, and another 14 fuel tanks located in the Sugon module, storing a total of about 6.1 tons of nitrous tetroxide and metamethylhydrazine fuel. Under normal circumstances, the space station consumes 7.5 tons of fuel a year.
You should know that due to the gravity of the earth, the International Space Station falls to the earth's side at a speed of 2 kilometers per month, so every once in a while the International Space Station must start the engine to improve the running orbit, otherwise there will only be a share of the fall! This is the reason why Russia controls the orbit of the space station.
If Russia forcibly separates from the International Space Station or secretly manipulates it, the United States really may not be able to deal with it. Of course, the United States will not sit still.
NASA invested in SpaceX, whose CEO Musk said in a social media post that the company's Dragon spacecraft is enough to meet the orbital lift and attitude adjustment of the International Space Station.
Later, the American company Northrop Grumman said that its "Cygnus" spacecraft can help the space station adjust its orbit, and the "Cygnus" spacecraft has docked with the International Space Station on February 21. The problem is that the rocket that launched the Cygnus spacecraft was Antares, and the engine used was also Russian, and there was too much uncertainty.
Aerospace experts said that the performance of the International Space Station, which lost the Russian module, would be greatly discounted, and if the orbit change required multiple spacecraft to work at the same time, or astronauts would need to get out of the capsule and use the robotic arm to readjust the layout of the space station.
Original: Blog post