As the West continues to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos took to Twitter to warn countries of consequences should the sanctions continue.
In a Twitter thread, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin warned that the crippling sanctions could lead to the International Space Station (ISS) crashing into any of the countries opposing Moscow in its military operation in Ukraine.
When, in one tweet, Rogozin asked who would stop the ISS from falling into either the US, Europe, India or China, Elon Musk stepped in and responded with a single image of SpaceX.
pic.twitter.com/4kRJyp0FOv— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022
To clarify his tweet, the SpaceX CEO later confirmed that he indeed meant that his company would stop the ISS from crashing into Earth.
Yes— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022
While several Twitter users lauded Elon Musk's move, others cautioned him to be careful lest he becomes a target for Russia.
"Elon, you know what you’re doing. But please don’t ever place yourself in a position where you are perceived as a strategic obstacle to the ambitions of madmen. And if you do, do it discretely. Your mission is critical to humanity, we need you here," tweeted Twitter user @IvanDamnit.
Another user Keith Dorschner commented, "Russia poisons their enemies. Please be careful Elon."
The ISS is a multi-nation project and has been in orbit for more than 21 years. One of the most ambitious international collaborations ever attempted, the ISS was launched in 1988 and is a collaboration among the US, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency (ESA).
Astronauts from multiple nations stay on the ISS and carry out research missions together. Crew from 15 nations occupy it on a rotational basis for space research. Currently, the ISS is occupied by four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts, and one from European Space Agency (ESA).
Despite the US and other Western countries announcing sanctions on Russia for launching a military operation in Ukraine, NASA said it would continue cooperation with Russians on operating ISS.
