RUSSIAN COUP AT THE SPACE STATION?      

          What a predicament!

          Russia can easily take control of the earth-orbiting International Space Station, shared by 15 other countries and built piece-by-piece with 37 American Space Shuttle missions.

         And in the midst of the Ukraine crisis, the head of their space program has posted on Twitter that threat of a coup in outer space.

          Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, whose bank assets have been frozen as a target of U.S. sanctions, twitted this on April 27^th:

“After analyzing the sanctions against our space industry, I suggest to the USA to bring their astronauts to the International Space Station using a trampoline.”

In other words, Rogozin, the head of the Russian Space Agency, has told America to take a flying leap if it wants access to the ISS!

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION     NASA Photo

          Along with the US sanctions against Russia, NASA has banned any contact with the Russian Space Agency’s headquarters at Star City, outside Moscow.  Exceptions are the training underway for American astronauts and their assigned missions with cosmonauts and other foreign space fliers.

The International Space Station orbiting Earth could become literally occupied by Russians only, as they have the only spaceship that can dock there.  Their three-man Soyuz spacecraft became the only ride when Congress and the Obama Administration decided to retire in 2010 the Space Shuttle program and its three veteran Orbiters.

          The tense international situation has repercussions all over the world, but 225 miles high in outer space, the drama seems written out of a blockbuster spy novel. The International Space Station is easy to see with the naked eye as a bright star moving across the night sky, a popular object for even casual stargazers.

          Aboard the ISS is the first commander from the Japan, Koichi Wakata.  The other five members of the Expedition 39 crew are Americans are Steve Swanson and Rick Mastracchio, and three Russians: Oleg Artemyev, Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Tyurin.

          The crews rotate out in groups of three, as two Soyuz space craft are always attached to the amazing research facility that space insiders simply call “The Station.”

          After 150 days in space, Commander Wakata, Russian Tyurin and American Mastracchio will return to Earth in their Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft on May 13.  That will leave two Russian and an American on the ISS until the launch of the Expedition 40 crew in Soyuz TMA-13M on May 28^th consisting of a Russian, an American and a European.

          When the Ukraine crisis spurred world sanctions, NASA said the science aboard The Station would continue with Americans as planned.  But as military actions escalated, so has the rhetoric about what could happen aboard the ISS. 

          NASA has been paying up to $70 million to a seat in the cramped Soyuz capsule, a spaceship design first flown in 1968 and modernized as technology progressed. 

Russian Soyuz spaceship docked at ISS  NASA photo

          America’s four to six person Orion space capsule is still three or four years away from test flights, let alone routine missions to the ISS. The only other spaceship in the world is China’s Shenzhou, a knock-off of the bulbous, three section Soyuz.

          China is not a partner in the $100 billion ISS, and has flown only five very ambitious human missions, including two to their own, small space station. But could China become a space partner of the ISS and supply rides?  Back in the 1970s, it seemed impossible that the USA and Russia would cooperate in outer space.

The Station has recently been granted a life extension until at least 2024. The orbiting outpost is the largest manmade structure in space, and rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts have manned it since 2000. Five space agencies representing 15 different countries helped build the space laboratory.

Could Russia take the ISS as hostage?

If Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to, it’s a real possibility.

Not only do the Russian’s have the only manned spaceships going to The Station, but they have the only weapons on-board, too!

That’s right, under the commander’s seat of both Soyuz spaceships now docked to the ISS is a combination rifle/shotgun/machete weapon that has flown on every manned mission. Called the TP-82, it is the bail-out gun for Russian military pilots. Because the Soyuz spacecraft lands on solid ground, an errant trajectory could necessitate a survival scenario for a day or two—which has occurred several times.

So, Russians could execute an actual armed take-over of The Station.  What repercussions would that create?

NASA Chief Charlie Bolden has noted that the space station has been through “multiple international crises” since crews began living there full-time on Nov. 2, 2000. That includes the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over break-away regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

If Russia kicked everyone off the ISS and maintained it themselves, not just America would be affected.  Five space agencies are involved, the others being Canada, Europe and Japan, all contributing billions of dollars to the development and construction of The Station.

The crisis might accelerate the work being done by three private aerospace firms building manned spacecraft.  Already the firm Space-X has flown successful unmanned supply mission with their spaceship called Dragon, which is being modified for human travel.  Behind it are two other spaceflight firms, Orbital Science Corp. and Virgin Galactic.

          Currently there have been 212 individuals who have docked with The Station, including 31 women (none of which have been Russian). That represents a total of 355 “tickets” punched, with the multiple visits by single astronauts. Six people have made four flights, including current crewman Mastracchio. There are 26 persons who have made three flights and 76 people have lived on the ISS twice.

          As tensions continue between Russia and the Free World over their actions in the Ukraine, the politics will spill upward to outer space and the crown jewel of 50 years of space exploration—the International Space Station.

          Some facts about the ISS:

·       The covering the size of a football field, the entire complex weighs 816,000 pounds.

·       The acre of solar panels generates 110 kilowatts of power, and the panels move to face the Sun as The Station orbits.

·       Traveling at 17,500 mph (5 miles per second) at an average 220 miles high, the ISS takes 90 minutes to orbit the 25,000 mile circumference of Earth.

·       Keep in mind that the ISS orbit is in 45 minutes of daylight, then 45 minutes of night, creating 17 sunrises and sunsets each 24-hour period.

·       Eight tons of food is required to support a six person expedition crew for half a year. Because the sense of taste is somewhat suppressed in space, crews enjoy spicy foods, including shrimp cocktail, tortillas, barbecue beef brisket, breakfast sausage links, chicken fajitas, vegetable quiche, macaroni and cheese, candy-coated chocolates and cherry blueberry cobbler. Lemonade is the most popular drink.

·       There are 13 rooms on the ISS, the most popular being the seven-window cupola, where spacefliers have a breathtaking view of Earth and space.