As war rages in Ukraine, four Americans, two Russians and a German live together in orbit on the International Space Station (ISS).
The partner space agencies are reassuring for the moment.
But it is not excluded that this unprecedented crisis modifies the trajectory of this adventure started more than twenty years ago.
They are seven. Four Americans, two Russians and a German drift together in a very small space while, 400 kilometers below, missiles rain down on a Ukraine at war and Western leaders confront Vladimir Putin.
Are the astronauts and cosmonauts of the International Space Station (ISS) trying to batten down their "hatchways" to the tensions that are tearing their respective leaders apart?
Philippe Droneau, director in charge of the mission at the Cité de l'Espace in Toulouse is convinced that traveling companions keep their space composure.
“There is a great solidarity in space, a kind of space code,” he says.
International cooperation is the raison d'être of manned flights and the ISS has already gone through diplomatic crises in more than 20 years of existence, in particular in 2014,
But tensions have never been so high.
Statements made Thursday by Joe Biden, saying the sanctions taken could "degrade" both the Russians' aerospace industry and their "space program" have enough to make orbital housemates sweat in their suits.
Just like the salvo of angry tweets they generated from Dmitry Rogozin, the tempestuous boss of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the International Space Station from uncontrolled deorbit?
“, he asks, noting that in the event of a disaster the debris from the ISS will not fall on Russia since it does not fly over it.
Technical interdependence on board
Technically, it's not just a rant.
The ISS is divided into two modules, one occupied by the Russians, the other by the other partners in the adventure which are the Americans, the European Space Agency, Canada and Japan.
And as specialist journalist Pete Harding explains in a thread, it is indeed in the Russian part that “the propelling elements” are located to control the altitude of the station.
But the Russians are also dependent on the solar panels located at the other end of the ISS for the supply of electricity.
For Philippe Droneau, the two segments are “too interdependent” to give rise to the desire to untie.
Notwithstanding the current conflict, civil space cooperation remains a bridge.
ESA continues to work on all of its programmes, including on ISS & ExoMars launch campaign, in order to honor commitments with Member States & partners.
We continue to monitor the evolving situation.
— Josef Aschbacher (@AschbacherJosef) February 25, 2022
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The space agencies are rather calming things down. “Despite the current conflict, space cooperation remains a bridge.
ESA continues to work on all its programs, including the ISS and Exomars launch campaign,” reassured Josef Aschbacher, head of the European Space Agency, in a tweet on Friday. Roscosmos website, The European official, however, specifies that he is closely following "the development of the situation".
On the NASA side, a spokesperson assured the American channel CNN that it "continues to work with Roscosmos and [its] other international partners in Canada, Europe and Japan to maintain safe and continuous operations of the ISS " .
Our file on the war in Ukraine
Status quo therefore for the time being in space.
But Philippe Droneau underlines that this diplomatic crisis is "much more serious than the previous ones and occurs on a different ground".
where it is not excluded that the astronauts become "the plaything" of diplomacy.
The ISS has been the symbol for twenty years of exemplary international space cooperation.
But, for the Moon, "the two blocks" have already formalized a separate exploration.
The ISS, which was to be abandoned in 2024, won a reprieve until 2030 "It could be that the current crisis accelerates the divorce", suggests the specialist and brings the station closer to disintegration again.
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The International Space Station deviates from its trajectory to avoid space debris
War in Ukraine
Vladimir Poutine
Russia
World
joe biden
ISS
Space
Nasa
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