Russia says it will no longer sell Russian-made rocket engines to the United States.
Head of the country’s space agency, Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin made this known on state television on Thursday, bringing to an end a decades-long relationship between the two countries in the rocket market.
“Today we have made a decision to halt the deliveries of rocket engines produced by NPO Energomash to the United States,” Rogozin said, according to the Russian news site TASS.
“Let me remind you that these deliveries had been quite intensive somewhere since the mid-1990s.”
TASS reported that the ban will apply to RD-180 engines that power US-based United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rockets.
However, ULA’s CEO Tory Bruno said on. Twitter that ULA has already taken delivery of the RD-180s it needs in the near term.
Russia and the Ukraine Republic crisis began last week Thursday after President Vladimir Putin ordered his army to invade their neighbours over some unresolved political issues.