Commerce increases sanctions on Russia impacting space commerce and trade
The Commerce Department last month announced that is increasing the level of sanctions against trade with Russia because it had determined that country had violated international law by using chemical weapons against specific dissidents both in and out of Russia.
On March 4, 2018, the Russia Government deployed a Novichok nerve agent in an attack against former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in the United Kingdom. In response, the U.S. Government imposed two sets of sanctions against Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) in August 2018 and August 2019.
On August 20, 2020, the Russian Government again deployed a Novichok nerve agent, this time against Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny, warranting a new determination by the Secretary of State and additional sanctions under the CBW Act.
While this ruling will have a negative impact on any space-related U.S./Russian activities, the full ruling specifically included these waivers:
Commercial Space Flight: The waiver covers exports and reexports to Russia of national security-controlled items in support of commercial space launch activities. License applications for such transactions will be reviewed consistent with the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the date of this document until September 1, 2021, after which date this waiver provision will expire and license applications will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.
Government Space Flight: The waiver covers exports and reexports to Russia of national security-controlled items subject to the EAR in support of government space cooperation. License applications for such transactions will be reviewed consistent with the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the date of this document.
It appears that the U.S./Russian partnership at ISS will go on with no change. For commercial space, business will remain unchanged only until September 1st. Until then any commercial deals with Russia will be grandfathered in. After that date however any commercial space deals will require permission from the government, which will likely cause delays and increased costs, even if approved.
The biggest impact to Russia and commercial space will likely be felt by the smallsat industry and Russia’s Soyuz-2 rocket. Roscosmos had formed a new subsidiary dubbed GK Launch Services to market that rocket to those satellite manufacturers, resulting in the recent launch of 39 such satellites on a single rocket in late March. This ruling will likely block such sales to any company with ties to the U.S.
This ruling might therefore also affect the OneWeb satellite constellation, since a large number of its satellites are being launched by Soyuz. Though the company is owned jointly by a company in India and the government of the United Kingdom, OneWeb satellites are built in the U.S. This ruling could seriously delay future launches of those satellites, which would in turn delay the inauguration of that constellation. That in turn will benefit OneWeb’s competitors, especially SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
Hat tip Parabolic Arc for spotting this ruling.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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The Commerce Department last month announced that is increasing the level of sanctions against trade with Russia because it had determined that country had violated international law by using chemical weapons against specific dissidents both in and out of Russia.
On March 4, 2018, the Russia Government deployed a Novichok nerve agent in an attack against former Russian military officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal in the United Kingdom. In response, the U.S. Government imposed two sets of sanctions against Russia pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act) in August 2018 and August 2019.
On August 20, 2020, the Russian Government again deployed a Novichok nerve agent, this time against Russian opposition figure Aleksey Navalny, warranting a new determination by the Secretary of State and additional sanctions under the CBW Act.
While this ruling will have a negative impact on any space-related U.S./Russian activities, the full ruling specifically included these waivers:
Commercial Space Flight: The waiver covers exports and reexports to Russia of national security-controlled items in support of commercial space launch activities. License applications for such transactions will be reviewed consistent with the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the date of this document until September 1, 2021, after which date this waiver provision will expire and license applications will be reviewed under a presumption of denial.
Government Space Flight: The waiver covers exports and reexports to Russia of national security-controlled items subject to the EAR in support of government space cooperation. License applications for such transactions will be reviewed consistent with the export licensing policy for Russia prior to the date of this document.
It appears that the U.S./Russian partnership at ISS will go on with no change. For commercial space, business will remain unchanged only until September 1st. Until then any commercial deals with Russia will be grandfathered in. After that date however any commercial space deals will require permission from the government, which will likely cause delays and increased costs, even if approved.
The biggest impact to Russia and commercial space will likely be felt by the smallsat industry and Russia’s Soyuz-2 rocket. Roscosmos had formed a new subsidiary dubbed GK Launch Services to market that rocket to those satellite manufacturers, resulting in the recent launch of 39 such satellites on a single rocket in late March. This ruling will likely block such sales to any company with ties to the U.S.
This ruling might therefore also affect the OneWeb satellite constellation, since a large number of its satellites are being launched by Soyuz. Though the company is owned jointly by a company in India and the government of the United Kingdom, OneWeb satellites are built in the U.S. This ruling could seriously delay future launches of those satellites, which would in turn delay the inauguration of that constellation. That in turn will benefit OneWeb’s competitors, especially SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
Hat tip Parabolic Arc for spotting this ruling.
The support of my readers through the years has given me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in the past two weeks has the mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Even today NASA and Congress refuses to recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
This just shoves the clock closer to midnight…something I thought dems frowned upon. Now they have to hate Russia over Trump.