Why ROSCOSMOS Will Be Better Off As A Non-Member of the International Space Station

What would be the fate of ROSCOSMOS as a non-member of the International Space Station?

“…if the King pushes his subjects around a lot, he may push them to the throne.” An Igbo Proverb.

The above proverb is universally applicable. If you become the reason for a person’s discomfort, you may unknowingly push them to find comfort. In the face of the ongoing Russian Invasion of Ukraine, and the resultant economy-crippling sanctions meted on Russia by most UN member States, the adage is evident on how Ukraine had so far adjusted to contain the aggressive might of the Russian Military, and just how the situation triggered a massive spark of patriotism among Ukrainians home and abroad. Now Russia is in that situation economically – As She is forced to improvise means to contain the impacts of the sanctions, she is forced to find erstwhile comfort.

NASA had initially stated that they hoped to continue working with ROSCOSMOS amid the waves of sanctions, and for a moment it seemed the sanctions would not get to the ISS partnership – But with the continued conflict in Ukraine, plus a number of other reasons, there is actually no solid guaranty that the ISS partnership will not be severed before the ongoing peace negotiation yields result. And if it should happen, Russia will not be at loss, in short, detaching from the ISS will bring more competition to the Space Rush and so becoming a non-member of the International Space Station will be beneficial to Russia. Read on to see why, even the 2021 Meeting between Russian Space scientists and Vladmir Putin supports this.

Why ROSCOSMOS Will Be Better Off As A Non-Member of the International Space Station

Russia Is a Space Exploration Pioneer

Even before the ISS was launched into the low Earth orbit, Russia had the Salyut, Almaz and Mir Space Stations, which were one of the earliest habitable Space research Laboratories. Russia is also a huge contributor of both material and intellectual resources to the ISS. Russia owns the capacity to build and operate their own Space Station, even though plans for that was initially halted. So, it is just to say that the Space game is nothing new to Russia and hence any sanctions that will terminate the ISS partnership is like giving them a reason to do in 2022, what they are supposed to do in 2025. Yes! Read on to understand why.

ISS Is Ageing Amidst Calls for Privatization

Yes, the International Space Station is already ageing and will soon be outdated, and when this happens, agreements will have to be revisited. Some of the current members of the ISS may opt to withdraw. Even, there have been talks of privatizing the ISS so as to move ahead to the more complex task of Multiplanetary Living and Colonization. With all this, we can ascertain that the ISS partnership has an uncertain future.

More Competition

We will have to face the bitter truth: There is nothing wrong with a healthy competition. While the competition so far had been mainly between ISS and China’s Tiangong space station, having an independent ROSCOSMOS among other private competitors of the Space Rush will hasten and diversify innovativity.

ISS’s Operation Timeframe Have Expired

On 12 April 2021, after a meeting between Russian Authorities and President Vladmir Putin, it was decided that Russia will carry out a technical inspection of the International Space Station and will make a decision on withdrawing from the project since 2025, and will inform its foreign partners. According to Russian authorities, the timeframe of the station’s operations has expired and its condition leaves much to be desired.

Why ROSCOSMOS Will Be Better Off As A Non-Member of the International Space Station

ROSCOSMOS will be better off as a non-member of the ISS because, not only does Russia possess the capacity to run her own Space Station, the current operational infrastructure of the ISS is questionable and almost due for an upgrade. The functional agreements of the involved parties will also be revisited, hence whether the binding agreement of the ISS is maintained or not, a total rehabilitation is imminent and will give both parties the opportunity to know what is best for them.

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