Russia Facing Sanctions Pressure Says "Won't Sell Rocket Engines to the US... Let Them Fly on a Broomstick"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] As Russia, a 'space power,' declared a 'rocket engine supply suspension' in response to Western economic sanctions, cracks are expected to emerge in space cooperation between the United States and Russia.

On the 3rd (local time), according to major foreign media, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), appeared on a state-run news channel and announced that Russia would no longer supply rocket engines to the United States. He said, "Under these circumstances, we cannot supply our world-class rocket engines to the United States."

Rogozin criticized the U.S., saying, "Find something else to fly with" and "Let them ride a broomstick."

He explained, "We had planned to deliver 12 additional RD-181 engines between 2022 and 2024 and were also in discussions with the U.S. regarding the delivery of the RD-181M engine with improved operational characteristics, but under the current situation, we cannot supply the engines."

According to Russia's claims, since the 1990s, Russia has supplied a total of 122 RD-180 rocket engines to the United States, of which 98 were used in the U.S. 'Atlas rocket.' The RD-180 engine actually constitutes the first stage of the Atlas 5(V) launch vehicle produced by Boeing and Lockheed Martin in the U.S. Through this Atlas 5 rocket, the U.S. Air Force has been transporting the highly classified X-37B spaceplane since 2002.

Earlier, Rogozin had emphasized on his social media that space cooperation between the two countries could be halted, mentioning the operation of the International Space Station (ISS), a symbol of U.S.-Russia space cooperation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.