NASA to Stop Working With Russian Government
- 10 years ago
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, has reportedly stopped having contact with Russia, because of the political controversy surrounding the situation in the Ukraine and Crimea. The restrictions are similar to the ones placed on interactions with the Chinese government regarding space travel, research, or exploration.
NASA has reportedly stopped having contact with Russia, because of the political controversy surrounding the situation in the Ukraine and Crimea.
A memo from Michael F. O'Brien, NASA’s associate administrator for international and interagency relations, says: “Given Russia's ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, until further notice, the U.S. Government has determined that all NASA contacts with Russian Government representatives are suspended, unless the activity has been specifically excepted.”
The restrictions are similar to the ones placed on interactions with the Chinese government.
American astronauts working aboard the International Space Station are exempt from the guidelines so that important ongoing operations can continue, since astronauts from both countries are mutually dependant on each other at this time.
The International Space Station is operated by several countries working in cooperation including the US, Russia, the European Union, Japan, and Canada.
All manned trips to and from the space station are currently powered by Russian Soyuz rockets, and NASA says they won’t have their own spacecraft to take over until 2017.
So in the meantime, NASA is paying Russia around 70 million dollars per person to send astronauts to and from Earth.
NASA has reportedly stopped having contact with Russia, because of the political controversy surrounding the situation in the Ukraine and Crimea.
A memo from Michael F. O'Brien, NASA’s associate administrator for international and interagency relations, says: “Given Russia's ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, until further notice, the U.S. Government has determined that all NASA contacts with Russian Government representatives are suspended, unless the activity has been specifically excepted.”
The restrictions are similar to the ones placed on interactions with the Chinese government.
American astronauts working aboard the International Space Station are exempt from the guidelines so that important ongoing operations can continue, since astronauts from both countries are mutually dependant on each other at this time.
The International Space Station is operated by several countries working in cooperation including the US, Russia, the European Union, Japan, and Canada.
All manned trips to and from the space station are currently powered by Russian Soyuz rockets, and NASA says they won’t have their own spacecraft to take over until 2017.
So in the meantime, NASA is paying Russia around 70 million dollars per person to send astronauts to and from Earth.