A Russian-made video that was posted on Telegram has been causing anxiety regarding the future of NASA and ISS work relationships.
As shared by NASA Watch on March 5, 2022, the video, which was first aired by the Russian state news outlet – RIA Novosti – shows the Russian Soyuz spacecraft leaving behind Mark Vande Hei. The initial plan was for Mark Vande Hei to be on board the Russian Soyuz as it departed.
To pour fuel on the fire were the recent comments made by the director-general of the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos – Dmitry Rogozin. He’s been posting many fiery tweets regarding the status of the ISS and NASA following NATO imposed several sanctions on Russia following they invaded Ukraine.
On February 26th, Dmitry Rogozin went live on Russian TV and stated that the professionals in the space industry were worried regarding the sanctions imposed by NATO, and they were not sure where the “tension’ was going next.
Most of the media houses and other political analysts are, however, interpreting the video wrongly. Many are insinuating that Roscosmos had plans to leave Vande Hei behind or pull a move that would further strain the relationship between NASA and ISS.
The video has been interpreted wrongly as NASA has come out and made it clear that their work relationship with the ISS will continue as usual.
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We Are Still Working Together
NASA’s official – Kathy Lueders – responsible for human spaceflight, addressed the matter and reaffirmed to millions of tweeps, stating their work relationship with the ISS was yet to be affected by the Russian-Ukraine war.
He stated that they are not getting any signs at the “working level” that their Russian counterparts are not devoted to ongoing operations.
“The Russian Roscosmos and NASA teams are still doing everything together. We train together and work together.” Lueders added.
At the time of writing this, there were seven people on board the ISS. Two are Russian cosmonauts, four American astronauts and one German astronaut.
The ISS and NASA Depend on Each Significantly
The ISS is divided into two bits; the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment. Russia and the US constantly have research labs continuously staffed with cosmonauts and astronauts, with each side playing roles that help each other. These roles range from life support systems to thrusters who ensure the ISS is safely operating in space.
In other words, the future of the ISS in orbit depends on both sides – Russia and the US – working together in tandem. Both sides have technology that is required for the proper functioning of the ISS. As Lueders said, it would be difficult for them to work on their own, and they needed their counterpart to do so.
While NASA is expected to operate the ISS until 2030, its counterparts are yet to renew their role beyond 2024. The station was launched 23 years ago, in November 1998, so we can easily tell that it’s an old spacecraft.
However, seeing the political situation, there are high chances that Russia will not be able to keep up with the financial and technological needs of the station. At the moment, Russia has no access to the newest tech that is needed for the update, not speaking yet regarding a new “personal” station due to sanctions. And their only way to build and launch a new station in 2030 is to be a part of a bigger international platform. And once more, this seems like a no as of today.
Vande Hei Is on Track to Break a Long-Standing Record
Vande Hei, who has been at the center of the controversy, is on track to breaking the American record for the longest uninterrupted stay in space. This is a record that is currently being held by Scott Kelly, a veteran NASA astronaut who spent a record 340 days afloat between 2015 and 2016.
Vande Hei was scheduled to depart the ISS in a Soyuz alongside two other Russian cosmonauts, Petr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov, and land in Kazakhstan.
When he lands, a team of NASA physicians and personnel will be on-site to receive and transport him to Houston. It’s here that his journey of medical recovery and debriefing will take place. This can last months as he has been exposed to the microgravity environment since April 2021.