By Andrey Oustroukh and Doug Cameron
Russia said it plans to ban sales of the space-rocket engine
used to launch most U.S. military and intelligence satellites.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said on Tuesday that he
would also turn off the parts of the U.S.-run GPS satellite
tracking system that are based in Russia, and proposed ending the
country's role in the international space station in 2020, at least
four years sooner than the White House has proposed.
Moscow's measures target U.S. reliance on Russian space
technology in the wake of a raft of Western sanctions, some of them
aimed at Mr. Rogozin, who heads Russia's defense and space
sector.
The Pentagon relies on rocket engines imported from Russia's
state-owned NPO Energomash OAO for many government satellite
launches. The U.S. has enough engines for two years of planned
launches, but concerns about the supply chain in the wake of the
Ukraine crisis have prompted the Pentagon to begin an urgent review
to assess domestic alternatives.
A U.S. judge late last month barred the Pentagon and the United
Launch Alliance LLP, a joint venture between Boeing Co. and
Lockheed Martin Corp., from dealing with NPO Energomash. The
injunction was lifted last week when U.S. officials said they
hadn't yet designated the Russian firm as an entity controlled by
Mr. Rogozin.
In what seemed to be a retaliatory move against U.S.
restrictions on technology exports to Russia that could be used for
defense purposes, Mr. Rogozin said that Moscow will be supplying
the rocket engines to the U.S. only if Washington provides proofs
that they will be used solely for nonmilitary purposes.
The U.S. is due to launch a new GPS satellite on Thursday, with
a domestically-produced engine. The next launch with a Russian-made
engine is slated for May 22. United Launch Alliance said it has
spares to cover upcoming launches, and the next batch of
engine--imported by a joint venture between NPO Energomash and
United Technologies Corp.--is due in November.
His push against the U.S. Air Force-run GPS follows Mr. Rogozin
said GPS infrastructure in Russia would be temporarily switched off
on June 1, and shut down from Sept. 1 if no agreement is reached in
a long-running spat over Russia's request to establish stations for
its own GLONASS satellite tracking system on U.S. soil. The move
has drawn fierce opposition from some U.S. lawmakers. The Air Force
didn't respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Rogozin said that Russia may exit the International Space
Station mission after 2020 to spend the funds "on more promising
space projects." If the Kremlin follows through on that threat,
U.S. space efforts would take a big blow.
After a combined investment of more than $100 billion by all its
partners, the orbiting international laboratory is central to the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration's plans to test
technology needed for deep-space missions.
When the White House announced its desire earlier this year to
keep the station operating through at least 2025, part of the
strategy was to head off budget cutbacks in space accounts by
European countries. At the time, NASA officials counted Russia as
leaning toward extending the use and funding of the space
station.
Over the years, Russian officials have talked in general terms
about pulling out of what is regarded as the epitome of US-Russian
scientific cooperation. Through several earlier crises and
diplomatic clashes, American astronauts have continued to train
with their Russian counterparts, and missions to the station
continued normally.
Mr. Rogozin, who was put on the sanctions list by the West
alongside other officials in attempt to punish Moscow for the
annexation of Crimea, had previously said that sanctions would only
improve the performance of Russia's industries instead of hurting
them.
Andy Pasztor and Julian E. Barnes contributed to this
article.
Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com
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