Russia-Ukraine Crisis Could Impact Space Stations

With NASA’s goal of extending the International Space Station through to 2030, the Ukraine-Russia conflict could significantly halt plans. Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos said on March 1st that it had authority to operate for only two more years and “the issue of extending the agreement in the current conditions causes our skepticism.” Stopping the partnership with the International Space Station could be detrimental for NASA and other partners who are dependent on Moscow for key sections of the orbiting laboratory and to carry out resupply, power generation and even boost the station’s altitude to prevent it from crashing to Earth.

NASA is hopeful that the cooperation will be able to withstand blows in the relationship with the Kremlin, as the relationship dates back more than two decades. However, after new sanctions related to the Ukraine invasino, Russia’s newest deadline for continuing their space station is 2024.

Scott Pace, previous executive secretary at the National Space Council and leader at NASA stated, “We’re in an unknown situation here. It depends on what the Russians decide to do and how the partners decide to handle the transition.” NASA says it hopes that at least one other space station from private companies will be available for use and that it can continue working with other countries.

Some potential private companies include Blue Origin LLC, founded by Jeff Bezos, and Northrop Grumman Corp. NASA has stated that they would provide funding for three teams that have proposed private orbiting stations, including the two listed above.

Furthermore, Roscosmos has said it would suspend coopration at the European launch facility located in French Guiana, where French company Arianespace SAS has used Russian-made Soyuz rockets for missions. The uncertainty surrounding the Ukraine-Russia conflict is not only terrestrial, but impacts various countries and companies involved in space exploration and research. Sanctions imposed against Russia may have consequences unaccounted for regarding the International Space Station, and could lead to broken alliances.

This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.