Safe ISS Operation Should Remain Priority, Space Foundation Says, as Russia Reviews Cooperation

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - All countries participating in the International Space Station (ISS) project should focus on maintaining its safety and continued work, and keep in mind the long history of cooperation, as Russia is reviewing the future of its participation after sanctions, Space Foundation CEO Tom Zelibor told Sputnik.

In March, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin said the Russian space agency will soon inform the government of how it plans to terminate cooperation on the ISS and is analyzing options of whether and how it may cooperate with its US, EU, Canadian and Japanese partners.

According to Zelibor, that is a decision that all of the ISS partners are presently assessing, and "this is a process with a lot of decisions and negotiations still to happen."

"While those still need to occur, the continual safe operation of the space station remains at the forefront of everyone’s mind," Zelibor said.

He described the ISS as a symbol of friendship and cooperation.

"As Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov said before returning to earth with his Expedition crewmates, ‘In orbit ...we are one crew.’ Those are words we should all keep in mind," Zelibor stressed.

Space Sanctions

Space has always been a sphere outside of sanctions and a place where it was possible to cooperate for the last eight years. However, in response to Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the US has said that its sanctions — intended to cut off more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports — will not only strike a blow to the country's military, but also "degrade" its aerospace industry, including space program.

When asked about the decision of the West to impose sanctions on Russia related to space, Zelibor said, "Heads of state and political leaders shape the laws by which they operate."

However, he explained that those laws govern foreign and trade relations as well as travel and technology exchanges.

"As such, government agencies, companies, organizations and citizens in those countries must abide by those laws and operate within prescribed frameworks," he added.

Zelibor pointed out that space has always been an area of joint cooperation, but it is also an area where the laws and sovereignty of other nations must be respected.

"For decades, International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) has been one such instrument that has shaped how space, aerospace and defense related technologies are exchanged by countries and companies," he said.

Current US-Russia Cooperation on ISS

NASA and astronauts involved in the ISS have said that the situation in Ukraine did not affect relations on board the space station.

Zelibor pointed out that cooperation in space saves lives - and that is equally true for the crew operating on board the ISS as well as lives on the ground.

"Those were lessons first taught us by Leonov and Stafford with Apollo-Soyuz and refined over time with the Shuttle-Mir program and today with the ISS," he said. "All of those experiences build relationships between cultures as well as countries, and that is good for everyone."

April 12, the anniversary of the first flight in space conducted by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day and as International Day of Human Space Flight in the rest of the world. The UN General Assembly declared April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight in 2011.

Zelibor said the world’s space adventure started with one person taking a bold step beyond earth, and it all started with Gagarin.

"No story about human exploration of space can be written without mentioning him by name or the team of Russian engineers that put him into orbit. They did it and history records that achievement for which Russia and the world deserve to be proud," he said.

Zelibor also said that for humanity, April 12 is a reminder of the courage required to take bold steps into the unknown.

"Gagarin and those who followed him were the boldest of humanity’s pioneers and are a powerful reminder of what is required of us when we want to do even greater things. History teaches us that," he added.