Amid the wave of sanctions from the USA on Russia over the war in Ukraine, Biden had stated that the Russian space industry will be hit.
Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Roscosmos, has announced on 3rd March 2022 that Russia would be halting the delivery of rocket engines to the US. Rogozin has stated to Russian state media, “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.”
The head of 🇷🇺 Russia’s Roscosmos space agency Dmitry Rogozin says American 🇺🇸 astronauts will have to “fly on their broomsticks” after Russia stopped delivering its rocket engines in response to Western sanctions. pic.twitter.com/3n5zFV18Kd
— Intelsky (@Intel_sky) March 3, 2022
Dmitry Rogozin further said, “Russia will be ending cooperation with the US on experiments on the ISS. The priority of the country’s space program will be adjusted to focus on satellites for defence interests.”
Rogozin stated that Russia has delivered a total of 122 RD-180 engines to the USA since the 1990s. 98 of those engines have been used to power the Atlas launch vehicles. He added that Russia will also stop providing technological assistance for the service and maintenance of the existing rocket engines in the USA.
Germany halts scientific projects in collaboration with Russia, switches off its own blackhole mapping telescope
ROSCOSMOS has informed that Dmitry Rogozin has also written a letter to the administrator of the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla. In this letter, he has announced that Roscosmos would be terminating all joint scientific projects in the International Space Station.
Dmitry Rogozin has written in his letter, “The termination of cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of higher education, scientific research and professional training announced by the leadership of the Federal Republic of Germany, of course, causes irreparable damage to the established long-term cooperation ties and significantly slows down activities in the field of outer space exploration for peaceful purposes.”
On February 25, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Higher Education and Research had announced that they are halting all existing, long-standing cooperation in scientific research collaborations with Russia.
It is notable that the DLR has announced on Thursday that it was terminating all collaboration activities with Russian institutions and would not start any new projects or initiatives with them. Later, Germany switched off its own eROSITA telescope, engaging in the mapping of blackholes on board a Russian satellite.
The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany announced last week that it would immediately freeze cooperation with Russian universities and businesses until further notice, issuing a condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS chief Dimitry Rogozin had posted a video showing workers at the Baikonur launch pad covering up the flags of the USA, Japan, and the UK on the OneWeb rocket which is scheduled to be launched on Friday. However, the flag of India was left intact.
