Escalating tensions between Moscow and Washington threaten to upend the cooperative relationships, forged nearly two decades ago following the Soviet Union's breakup, that today are integral to some of America's most important civil and military space activities. The situation could still diffuse itself, U.S. experts said, but it nonetheless offers a cautionary tale about reliance on other countries for key strategic capabilities. In retaliation for U.S. sanctions imposed following its incursion into Ukraine, Russia announced May 13 that it would end its participation in the international space station program after 2020 and prohibit the use of Russian-built rocket engines in launches of U.S. national security satellites.
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