US sanctions against Russia do not affect its collaboration on the Space Station at the moment

The international tension due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the economic punishment measures decided by the West in response do not affect collaboration in space at the moment.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, is a lead partner for the International Space Station, where . Soyuz spacecraft and Progress freighters regularly travel to the orbiting complex.

Currently, the commander of Expedition 66 on the Space Station is precisely the Russian Anton Shkaplerov, until March 30, 2022, when he will return to Earth after almost a year in orbit. The other Russian in Expedition 66, made up of seven crew members, is Pyotr Dubrov.

Meanwhile, on Earth, Russia has invaded Ukraine and the United States and other Western countries, also partners of the International Space Station, have decided on significant sanctions in response. But

“NASA continues to work with the Roscosmos State Space Corporation (Roscosmos) and our other international partners in Canada, Europe, and Japan to maintain safe and continued operations of the International Space Station,” NASA spokesman Dan Huot told Space.com in an email.

For his part, the general director of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, has published a statement in Russian on Twitter about the relationship between the two agencies. He stated through the official Roscosmos channel that Roscosmos “values ​​professional relationships with NASA.”