Russia Ukraine War Affecting World’s Space Programmes

Russia Ukraine War :

“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” 

– John Steinbeck

War never was and never will be good for us as species and to the world. War always brings death and destruction even if it’s being waged between all humans as one against alien invasion.

The heat of Russia Ukraine war is bearing its brunt on the whole world and now it has reached a whole new level – Space. The terrible turn of events on the ground is repelling in space as far as Mars. From a communication satellite launch system to the complex Mars exploration, Russia Ukraine war has hit the space exploration projects of not just one country but of all the space agencies on the planet.

Ever since the full-scale attack of Russia on Ukraine began on 24th February, nations around the world including the United States of America (USA), the European Union, Japan, Australia have imposed waves of sanctions on Russia.

And Russia as a response began cutting ties with countries on space exploration programs.

These severing ties have now disturbed everything from international collaborations to manned missions to space.

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Russia Ukraine was affecting these missions…

> OneWeb Internet Network: It is a space-based internet service providing technology with hundreds of low-earth satellites launched by the UK company OneWeb.

The Russian Soyuz rocket was scheduled to carry more than 20 OneWeb satellites on 4th March, but on 2nd March the Russia Ukraine war had forced the postponement of launch as Roscosmas scrapped the mission demanding a guarantee from OneWeb that they wouldn’t be used for military purposes.

> Navigation Satellites: The European space agency’s Galileo navigational system is Europe’s response to United States’ GPS system.

It already has two dozen satellites in orbit. A few more Galileo satellites were scheduled for launch via a Russian Soyuz rocket in 2023.

But to counter European sanctions on Russia Ukraine war, Russia on 26th February announced the suspension of cooperation with the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and recalled dozens of Russian employees from the area.

> Venera-D Mission to Venus: Russia and the USA have always had thin ties since world war II. And the Russia Ukraine war has only severed the ties that were holding on threads.

Russia cut NASA from the Russia-led Venera-D mission to Venus, the head of Roscosmos tweeted on 26th February.

“This mission will include an orbiter, lander and surface station, and it will focus on understanding Venus’s former and present habitability.”

However, this mission won’t be taking off until late this decade. And NASA won’t be affected much as it has partnered with several commercial space agencies.

> Exo Mars Rover: This is a collaborated mission between ESA and Roscosmos. It’s a two-level mission comprising an orbiter and a rover. The orbiter has been orbiting Mars since 2016, and the Rosalind Franklin rover was scheduled for a September launch. The Russia Ukraine war stalled the launch preparations.

“The sanctions and the wider context make a launch in 2022 very unlikely,” said European Space Agency (ESA) in a report.

If this mission misses the 2022 launch window, it will have to wait until 2024. This mission was already postponed from 2020 due to the pandemic.

> The eROSITA Telescope: It is a space-based Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma x-ray observatory launched jointly by Russia and Germany to map the Universe.

It has been mapping for the last 2½ years. Its main telescope eROSITA has been placed into safe mode by Germany to “Freeze co-operation with Russia as a response to Russia Ukraine war.”

Western countries as a response to Russia Ukraine’s war are sanctioning Russia to cripple its economy. And as of right now the sanctions are hurting Russia.

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