The Russian attack on Ukraine has had an impact on a wide range of areas. The cooperation at the Kourou spaceport is now also affected.
Moscow – In response to EU sanctions against Moscow, Russia’s space agency Roskosmos is suspending cooperation on space launches in Kourou, French Guiana. In addition, according to Roskosmos boss Dmitri Rogozin, the technical staff will be withdrawn.
According to the state agency TASS, there are currently 87 Russian employees at the spaceport in South America. Their return flight is now being organized.
The West imposed severe sanctions on Moscow on Thursday after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. Despite many conflicts between Russia and the West, space travel has been one of the areas in which cooperation has functioned without major disruptions in recent years. On the other hand, Russia wants to continue cooperation on the International Space Station, as Rogozin recently emphasized.
Europe’s former space chief Jan Wörner regretted the announced end of the cooperation. “Until now I had hoped that despite all the difficulties, space travel would be kept out of the conflict,” Wörner told the German Press Agency. “Space travel has been a stable matter beyond political disputes over the past few years.” The earth – “the pale blue dot” – deserves that humanity tackle major challenges such as climate change, hunger and poverty together with their research in space, said Wörner . He headed the European Space Agency ESA from 2015 to February 2021. dpa
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