NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is seen outside the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft after he landed with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and the cosmonauts returned to Earth without incident. The situation was concerning, though at the time NASA dismissed any specific concerns around astronauts and cosmonauts that were on the ISS. When Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, American astronaut Mark Vande Hei was onboard the ISS and scheduled to return to Earth on a Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft alongside two Russian cosmonauts. Russia’s chatter and threats over the ISS go back to shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, and are a response to the West’s sanctions imposed on Russia. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has made a mess of all of these space-related activities. Russia is refusing to sell rocket engines. Commercial customers have cancelled launches at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Germany won’t cooperate with Russia anymore in the e-ROSITA mission. Russia is no longer involved with the European Space Agency in the Exo-Mars Rover mission. So when he speaks, he speaks in concert with Putin and his regime. Rogozin was formerly the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in charge of the defence industry and was also Russia’s ambassador to NATO. Rogozin is deeply embedded in Russian politics and its overlord, Vladimir Putin. The latest “threat” to abandon the ISS comes from Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos. Russia’s been saying this for a while now, and maybe this time, they mean it. According to some reports, Russia has decided that the rest of the world no longer gets to enjoy its involvement when it comes to the ISS. Russia may be low-hanging fruit in western media right now, but the Russian government’s public statements still deserve scrutiny. Will they end their involvement in the ISS? Does anybody care anymore? Does anybody want them to stay? Will we see a line-up of diplomats asking them to reconsider. Now Russia seems to be “threatening” to end its participation in the ISS over economic sanctions the world has imposed on them. That’s what happens when you unleash your military on your peaceful neighbour and when the body count grows alongside the rubble piles that used to be Ukrainian cities. What’s left of its credibility is in shreds as Russia lurches towards pariah status. When Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine amidst accusations of Nazism and NATO aggression, it left most of its credibility behind.
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