Russia Halts Supply of Its Rocket Engines to the U.S.

On Thursday, Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, announced that it would stop supplying the United States with its rocket engines, which is the latest in a series of retaliatory moves from the agency in response to Western sanctions and condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

"In a situation like this we can't supply the United States with our world's best rocket engines,” said Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos, on the state-owned television channel Russia-24, reports Reuters. “Let them fly on something else—their broomsticks—I don't know what."

Rogozin is referring to the Russian engine RD-180, which is used in the first stage booster of the American Atlas V launch vehicle operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. 

Rogozin’s joke about broomsticks is in character, as he previously suggested American astronauts would need a trampoline to reach space without Russian rockets in the wake of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. However, Roscosmos does not have the same leverage against the U.S. as it did between 2011 to 2019, when it was the only nation that could provide transport for crews to and from the International Space Station. The successful development of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has brought crewed launches back to American soil in recent years, ending Russia’s monopoly on rides to space.

Likewise, ULA plans to transition away from its dependence on the RD-180 with the Vulcan Centaur, a new heavy launch vehicle currently in development that will replace the Russian parts with the BE-4 engine made by the American company Blue Origin. ULA still has a few dozen launches planned for the Atlas V, so it would be ideal to maintain Russian cooperation in case the company needs spare parts or special maintenance services. However, ULA got ahead of Roscosmos’ threats with a statement that its missions could continue without Russian help if necessary. 

“As we manage the transition to the Vulcan launch system, all necessary RD-180 engines to execute the Atlas V fly-out are safely stored in our factory in Decatur, Alabama,” said ULA spokesperson Jessica Rye last week, according to SpaceNews. “We will continue to cultivate new supplier relationships to ensure we safely and successfully fly out the program.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is wreaking havoc on its international partnerships worldwide, including many of its long-standing collaborations in space exploration.

Roscosmos also tweeted on Thursday that it would be halting all of its joint scientific experiments with Germany onboard the ISS, in response to German sanctions. Likewise, the agency retaliated against British sanctions by refusing to provide rockets for an upcoming launch of satellites for the communications company OneWeb, which is partially owned by the United Kingdom government. 

Rogozin issued an ultimatum that the British government sell its stake in the company and assure Russia that the satellites would have no military applications. Those terms appear to be a nonstarter, according to the U.K.’s business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who tweeted that “there's no negotiation on OneWeb: the U.K. Government is not selling its share.”

Over the past week, Roscosmos has also hinted that it will abandon its role on the ISS once it has fulfilled its current commitment to the year 2024. Rogozin also implied Russia could crash the station into the United States, a statement that is widely considered to be a benign threat.