Russian Space Chief Threatens to Crash Space Station Into the U.S. Over Sanctions

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.politicalflare.com/2022/02/russian-space-chief-threatens-to-crash-space-station-into-the-u-s-over-sanctions/


Yesterday, we reported on the fact that Biden’s sanctions on Russia went well beyond that which was contemplated prior (However, Biden has yet to put an embargo on Russian oil, we reported that he had. It is still being discussed). Additionally, Germany and Italy have humiliated themselves in front of the world by only tentatively joining the sanctions, putting their own interests first.

But the sanctions that Biden announced stung, badly. President Biden froze over One trillion dollars of Russian assets held in the United States, accounts holding everything from Putin’s billions to savings of individual Russians (though branches in Russia can likely help small accounts). We know the announcements stung because they prompted this bizarre response from Dmitry Rogozin, the chief of the Russian space corporation Roscosmos,

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or Europe?” tweeted Rogozin in Russian. “There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure on India or China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?”

What. The. Fck?

Just from a practical standpoint, there is no way this guy can direct the Space Station to fall in any one area. They may be able to hit a continent, anything more specific would be dicey. But the more obvious question is, if Russia’s response to sanctions involves things falling out of the sky and blowing stuff up, they have FAR better equipment made to do just that.

*snip*


Totally. Normal.

[Thomas Hurt]

1. Sucking up to the sociopath in charge.

[SheltieLover]

2. Kick them off the space station!

[lapfog_1]

7. without a return ship or space suit.

[SheltieLover]

8. Well, now that you mention it...

[electric_blue68]

35. Uh, no... Russian Astronauts have always been cooperative with US & Other Astros...

up in the ISS even during times of strife between our nation's!


There's the Association of Space Explorers that may have started while the USSR was still intact that consists of US, Soviet/Russian, Chinese, Indian etc together in friendship, and experiences.

[PatSeg]

3. I thought at first that was satire!

Apparently, the man really has become unhinged.

[highplainsdem]

13. I wondered about that, too. Such a crazy threat!

[PatSeg]

15. And all the nuclear weapons threats

Like a tyrant backed into a corner.

[highplainsdem]

17. Putin backed himself into that corner.

[PatSeg]

31. Very true

This is all his own making.

[lapfog_1]

4. we have many such things that can fall on Russia too

about 20 minutes after leaving a missile silo.

Asshole.

[llashram]

5. that's a serious threat

aren't there Russians on the ISS?

[durablend]

6. Wouldn't most of it burn up in the atmosphere?

Or not high up enough?

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

10. Could be the size

It's probably too big to completely burn up. Mir was a lot smaller than the ISS and I don't think it totally burned up when they deorbited it.

[ProfessorGAC]

29. Materials Of Construction

Pretty darned big, & lots of it is titanium. Titanium has a boiling point of nearly 6,000°C.
So, a pretty good piece of it would survive all the way to the ground.
The heat stresses might cause fractures & it might not be all one piece.
But, a high BP material likely wouldn't completely vaporize.

[Midnight Writer]

9. Put down the vodka, Comrade.

[lastlib]

36. Stop complaining about drug users in Ukraine's government if you can't control the ones in your own.

This guy's on something, Vlad, and it ain't Snickers bars........

[patphil]

11. I seriously doubt they would sacrifice their space station that easily.

It has strategic, technical, and scientific importance that would be lost. And, the chances that it would actually do significant damage is very small.
He's just whining because he has been hurt by a war that he can't protest in Russia without getting arrested. So, he has to lash out in this ridiculous way.

Just wishful thinking on my part, but the longer this war lasts, the more unpopular it will get in Russia. Putin could care less now, but in 6 months he might have a different attitude.

[C_U_L8R]

12. Say what, Hugo Drax?

Don't bite off more than you can chew.

[PJMcK]

34. OT

That was the dumbest and worst Bond film. It’s ridiculous from start to finish.

[C_U_L8R]

38. Bad actors go with bad actors

Putin sure seems to be one-upping the worst Bond category.

[Hekate]

14. What is "politicalflare.com" and are they a trustworthy news source? Help me out here.

[demmiblue]

16. I found a CNN link:

Russia's space agency warns US sanctions could 'destroy' cooperation on the International Space Station

(CNN)The head of Russia's space agency says new US sanctions have the potential "to destroy our cooperation" on the International Space Station. There are currently four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European astronaut living and working on board the orbiting outpost.

After President Joe Biden announced new sanctions Thursday that "will degrade their (Russia's) aerospace industry, including their space program," Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said on Twitter that the station's orbit and location in space are controlled by Russian engines.

"If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or...Europe?" Rogozin said. "There is also the possibility of a 500-ton structure falling on India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, therefore all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?"

A NASA spokesperson told CNN that it "continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station."

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/politics/russian-space-agency-us-sanctions-international-space-station/index.html

[Hekate]

19. Better source. TY for that chilling report. I'm really concerned about using Twitter haphazardly...

… as Europe gets plunged into a war of Putin’s making. Feelings are high, and confirmation bias is — well, I’m susceptible too. We all have to be cautious.

[demmiblue]

25. I received my lesson in being cautious using Twitter today.

I posted some text from Twitter using the translate button, and the translation of Volodymyr Zelensky was Vladimir Zelensky. Fortunately, someone pointed it out.

[Nevilledog]

20. Beat me to it.

[Nevilledog]

18. I see them as kinda like rawstory.

Here's a CNN story:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/24/politics/russian-space-agency-us-sanctions-international-space-station/index.html



(CNN)The head of Russia's space agency says new US sanctions have the potential "to destroy our cooperation" on the International Space Station. There are currently four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts and one European astronaut living and working on board the orbiting outpost.

After President Joe Biden announced new sanctions Thursday that "will degrade their (Russia's) aerospace industry, including their space program," Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said on Twitter that the station's orbit and location in space are controlled by Russian engines.

"If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station (ISS) from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or...Europe?" Rogozin said. "There is also the possibility of a 500-ton structure falling on India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, therefore all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?"

A NASA spokesperson told CNN that it "continues working with all our international partners, including the State Space Corporation Roscosmos, for the ongoing safe operations of the International Space Station."

*snip*


Difference I can see is CNN isn't interpreting it to mean "right now". Not sure why these fascists are entitled to any sort of benefit of the doubt.

[Hekate]

21. Thanks, Neville

[Alexander Of Assyria]

23. Doubt of what? There seems to be no there there to doubt?

[Nevilledog]

24. CNN treats the statement as more of a "Russia won't fund the ISS" going forward.

[Alexander Of Assyria]

22. So the source for the craziness is....crazily wrong...?? So maybe the post should be ditched.

[Nevilledog]

26. I think it's totally reasonable to place the intent of the statement as a threat.

I don't think it's likely that anything would happen to the ISS, but I think threatening statements made by Russia are newsworthy. FFS, they're threatening escalation if Finland & Sweden join NATO.

Link to tweet

CNN doesn't have any proof that the ISS statement was meant to only apply to future funding, but you're certainly entitled to accept that opinion.

[lastlib]

37. Amichai Stein--Is that Jill's brother?

or another relative?

[Chainfire]

27. They may just better be careful threatening acts of war against us.

Somebody just might take them seriously.

[Hortensis]

28. :) As Patphil puts it. The station is a partnership by U.S., Russia, European nations,

Japan and Canada. The analysis below evaluates his statement as "an effort to both placate NASA as well as Putin—not an easy task."

Russia wants to be a great, advanced power, regarded by the nations of the world as such, not as a circus bear that's broken its leash. And of course, they have much better things to drop.

There's a pretty good Rogozin-Elon Musk "trampoline" anecdote toward the bottom.

The escalating tensions between Russia and the Western world, including the United States, have raised concerns among spaceflight officials about the fate of the International Space Station, which is a partnership led by the United States and Russia with participation by European nations, Japan, and Canada. The space station cannot operate without power from the US segment and propulsion from visiting Russian vehicles.

So far, the partnership appears to be weathering these concerns. At a seminar on Wednesday, Valda Vikmanis-Keller, who directs the Office of Space Affairs, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental Scientific Affairs for the US State Department, said relations are ongoing. Two NASA astronauts are presently training in Russia, with five more scheduled to go, while three Russian cosmonauts are training in Houston, Vikmanis-Keller said. European officials said relations on joint spaceflight projects are continuing.

And a spokeswoman for NASA's Bill Nelson, Jackie McGuinness, told Ars, "NASA continues working with Roscosmos and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to maintain safe and continuous International Space Station operations."

But Rogozin is a wild card. In 2014, in his role as deputy chairman over Russia's defense and space industries, Rogozin was among the first seven people sanctioned by the United States following the Crimean crisis. At the time, with NASA's space shuttle having been retired and SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle still in development, NASA astronauts could not get to the space station any other way than aboard Russian Soyuz vehicles. After his sanction, Rogozin lashed out, saying that maybe NASA astronauts should instead use a trampoline to reach space.

This comment would later be turned around and used to mock Rogozin. After SpaceX delivered two NASA astronauts to the space station for the first time in 2020, company founder Elon Musk said, "The trampoline is working." Recently, Russian and US officials agreed that Roscosmos and NASA would barter seats for future flights, with NASA astronauts riding on the Soyuz in exchange for Russians launching on Crew Dragon as early as this fall.

Now, Rogozin is in a difficult situation. Preserving Russia's partnership with NASA is important because, absent the International Space Station, his country really has no human spaceflight program. However, Putin clearly is bent upon violating Ukraine's sovereignty. So Rogozin's statement appears to be an effort to both placate NASA as well as Putin—not an easy task.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/russias-space-chief-is-very-unhappy-with-hostile-us-policy/

[crickets]

33. Good article - the trampoline exchange is pretty funny. nt

[Ex Lurker]

30. The old Soviet leaders were at least rational

They were adversaries but they didn't want to blow up the world. These guys are Bond villains.

[gratuitous]

32. Knock yourself out, Dmitry

Our collective yawn doesn't mean we regard your rant as an empty threat.