NASA insists space station unaffected by Russian war

NASA is insisting tensions linked to the war in Ukraine had no impact on International Space Station operations or the planned return of an American astronaut aboard a Russian capsule later this month.

Speaking to reporters, Joel Montalbano, NASA’s ISS program manager, says: “I can tell you for sure Mark is coming home on that Soyuz. We are in communication with our Russian colleagues. There’s no fuzz on that. The three crew members are coming home.”

“There’s been some discussion about that, but I can tell you we’re ready. Our Roscosmos colleagues have confirmed that they’re ready to bring the whole crew home, all three of them,” he continues.

Over the weekend, Russian space agency chief Dmitry Rogozin warned again that Western sanctions on Russia could cause the ISS to crash, by disrupting the operation of spacecraft vital to keeping the platform in orbit.