How to save the International Space Station and prevent the dreaded “gap”

Enlarge / The International Space Station is pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during a fly around of the orbiting lab that took place following its undocking on Nov. 8, 2021. (credit: NASA)

In the 10 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, relations between the first nation to reach space and the Western world have been stripped to the bone.

To wit: Europe's space agency has canceled several launches on Russian rockets, a contract between privately held OneWeb and Roscosmos for six Soyuz launches has been nullified, Europe suspended work on its ExoMars exploration mission that was set to use a Russian rocket and lander, and Russia has vowed to stop selling rocket engines to US launch companies.

Virtually every diplomatic and economic tie between Russia's space industry and Europe and the United States has been severed but one-the International Space Station.

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