Elon Musk Suggests SpaceX Will Rescue Space Station If Russia Attempts Sabotage

The head of the Russian space agency warned the International Space Station (ISS) is at risk of deorbiting and crashing if cooperation between the US and Russia in space collapses. Should the US cut off Russia’s access to certain space technologies needed to keep the ISS operational, the result could involve the Russians allowing the station to deorbit and crash. 

No other than the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, responded to a tweet from Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin that read: 

“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States or…” 

Musk weighed in by answering Rogozin’s threat with a picture of the SpaceX logo. 

pic.twitter.com/4kRJyp0FOv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

The billionaire replied to multiple Twitter users. One person asked Musk if this indicated SpaceX would keep the ISS from plummeting to Earth. Musk replied: “Yes.”

Yes

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Musk also responded to an editor of NASASpaceflight.com who posted a thread with a picture of what the ISS would look like without the Russian Segment attached and a SpaceX Dragon docked on the station to provide re-boost capability and attitude control. Musk said it was a “good thread.”

Good thread

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022

Last Thursday, President Joe Biden laid out new sanctions that he said would “degrade” Russia’s “aerospace industry, including their space program,” among other things.

The ISS is a collaboration between the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency. Presently, two Russian cosmonauts, four NASA astronauts, and one European astronaut live and work onboard the ISS.

Russia has already said it will pull out of the ISS by 2025. Roscosmos has already begun work on a new space station.