The United States has refused to grant Russia access to the International Space Station (ISS) because of its illegal annexation of Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Friday..
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the decision was made at the highest levels of the U.S. government and that Russia was informed of the decision on Thursday..
The decision is a major blow to Russia’s space program, which has been reeling from the loss of funding and expertise since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The ISS is a joint project of the United States, Russia, and several other countries, and it has been continuously inhabited by astronauts and cosmonauts since 2000..
The official said the decision was not made lightly, but that it was necessary to send a clear message to Russia that its aggression in Ukraine would not be tolerated..
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