Russia's ISS Boss Says Ukraine Crisis Slowing Moscow's Renewal of Station Partnership

摘要

The head of the international space station program at the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, on July 28 said the wall protecting the international space station and space exploration from the Ukrainian crisis might be starting to crack. Speaking here before the launch of the fifth and final European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) freighter to the station - a program whose retirement in Europe is already complicating the station's end-of-life deorbiting scenario - Alexey B. Krasnov said the Ukraine crisis is why Roscosmos has received no government approval to continue the station partnership beyond 2020. "I am not necessarily optimistic" about whether such go-ahead approval will arrive this year, Krasnov said, adding that his agency had hoped to start this year preparing orders for components that will be needed for the orbital complex if it is to remain operational until 2024 and beyond. NASA, as the station's lead agency, has announced its intention to continue to operate the facility to 2024. Russia is the sole current means of sending astronauts to and from the station, and Russia's Progress supply vehicles are the only ones now able to fuel the station.