The European Union has removed some of the restrictions imposed on the Russian Federation, which allowed the sale and purchase of hydrozine, an inorganic substance used as a rocket fuel, which is necessary for the joint Russian-European project Exomars. The decision was published at the Official Journal of the European Union.
Restrictions were specifically abolished for operations that provide technical support, financing or financing for the sale, supply, dispatch, transfer, export and import, purchase or transportation of hydrazine fuel at concentrations of 70% or more.
The law stipulates that operations with hydrazine are allowed to the extent that this substance is used for testing and launching the Exomars space probe under the space research program Exomars 2020. The volumes should correspond to the needs at each stage of the mission, but not to exceed 5,000 kg throughout all phases of the mission.
Hydrozine can also be supplied for the space vehicle of the Exomars probe in the quantities required for launch, but not more than 300 kg.
The bill states that “provisions for technical assistance, financial or financial assistance related to the above operations are subject to prior approval by the competent authorities. In order to obtain permission to perform the aforementioned operations, applicants must provide the necessary documentation to the competent authorities, who then must notify the European Commission of all issued permits.”
The decision was published on December 1, 2017, the day after the publication at the official journal of the European Union.