From February 2022, Russia launched a “special military operation” by deploying military troops on Ukrainian territory. Beginning by shelling a few places in the east, north and south, the Russian army attacked Bakhmut in the Donbass region. The Russian army has extended its action to different places, including Mariupol. There are various horizons of war. From the point of view of Putin’s administration, he wants unity between Eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians) because they come from the same Rus Commonwealth, and they expect to be able to work together and share a common political understanding in the future. Moreover, the Putin administration claimed that the West (EU and US) was using Ukraine and Belarus as part of an “anti-Russian scheme”.
Back then, in 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and intervened in the Donbass using the “Commonwealth” and an identity similar to the people of Crimea. The conflict has influenced many sectors internationally, such as trade, the global agenda, currency, G20 meetings and the post-covid development process. However, we are missing something more important in the post-conflict aspect: outer space.
Russian in space activity
In the historical record, Russia was the main player in space activity; of Yuri Gagarin, the first cosmonaut to reach the galaxy, Russia’s capability in space cannot be underestimated. Thanks to Roscosmos, the Russian national entity in space, Russia has achieved many goals in space activity (even in Soviet times). Russia became the first country to send humans into space using spacecraft, the first country to send the world’s first satellite (Sputnik 1) and the first country to have a space station ( Salyut). In the modern era, Russia has become a superpower country with space weapons. Moscow shows interest in space weapons for military purposes. For example, Russia has the first fractional orbital bombardment (FOB) system as a nuclear delivery system. Russia also has advanced kinetic interception of satellites and can ground use and intercept satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO). In addition, Russia has the most advanced capability in kinetic satellite jamming, GPS signal interference using mobile electronic warfare systems, Krona optical surveillance system for satellite detection and bodyguards satellites, which can protect other Russian satellites from threats in the galaxy.
Early on, Russia established the world’s first rudimentary station by linking the two Soyuz vehicles in 1969. After that, the United States developed its own space station called US Skylab. After 24 years and more than 30 completed missions, Russia plays an important role in the ISS. At the end of July 2022, Russia brought some important technologies to the ISS, namely: the full-configuration docking system, the Orlan MKS spacesuit and the robot Fedor, the first humanoid cosmonaut for security purposes. In the past, Russia has provided various modules, and the critical technology for the ISS was the Zvezda service module. The Zvezda is an old part of the Mir-2 space station in Soviet times and is still in use until now.
Impact on space activity
After the start of the war, EU member states banned Russia from all economic activity, followed by the United States. The crisis has taken us to the edge of a cliff. According to the EU Consilium, EU member states applied six-month embargo packages, covering; finance, energy, technology, dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods. After various embargoes and currency limitations, Moscow responded to EU policies by cutting off oil distribution to EU countries. The Putin administration also demanded commercial payments with Russian currency. The conflict between two countries has turned into a multi-state conflict. Before diving too deeply into this problem, it is essential to know how the ISS works. The International Space Station or commonly known as ISS, was a multilateral cooperation between the countries of the world. The main purpose of the ISS was to explore potential resources in space. The ISS has 15 member states and develops various missions, such as the development of technology and the maintenance of service sectors such as telecommunications, banking, commerce and education.
The Putin administration knows Russian power. As we have already seen above, Russian space capabilities cannot be underestimated. Faced with embargoes launched by the West, Moscow has decided to leave the ISS in 2024, according to Yuri Borisov, head of state-controlled space company Roscosmos, and focus on building their space station. With all of Russia’s contributions to the ISS, this orbital outpost depends on Russian modules that have been around for a long time, like the Zvezda service module and a few Russian-owned modules. The next question mark over our heads is, what is the impact of Russia leaving the ISS? For example, Zvezda, Russia’s vital contribution, had a necessary task in the operation of the ISS. This module was central to providing accommodation as well as a resupply capability to the fledgling ISS. Additionally, the Zarya control module has the ability to maneuver and supply vendors during the initial phase of the station’s life and later became a storage vehicle for cargo and thruster. NEP, Science and Power platform, is also necessary. This module has a special beam and was to carry an array of solar panels, power generation concentrators, heaters and science payloads.
Future Space Rivalry
Due to the cost and limitations of technology, space should be administered through cooperation between countries. The transfer of knowledge and technologies is the key to a serene management of space. However, international players and important nations around the world are trapped in competition. Bring outer space into the world of anarchy. Every major government was militarizing outer space with high-tech weaponry. Today, China has established its own space outpost called Tiangong, supplying its satellites with “safety” weapons, testing their space weapon and creating a billion pieces of space junk. India has tested its FOBs and the jamming of attached satellites at various locations across the country, and the EU has launched a mega constellation project in the near future to boost telecommunications services and secure their assets in the ‘space. It can be assumed that after Russia leaves the ISS and builds its own space station, the space rivalry will become more complex and uncontrollable, especially as many private sectors and developing countries show their interest in space. .
Comments are closed.