The repercussions of this for the space industry could be broad and unforeseeable.
There have been reports that Yuzhnoye Design Office in Ukraine has been destroyed. Yuzhnoye is the manufacturer of the 1st stage Antares tank, so if these reports are true, then Antares will never be able to launch again after NG-19. pic.twitter.com/UzfUrMXRoU
I’m sorry, there may be some point at which China is a threat in space, but the notion of it coming from what is basically a repeat of Skylab almost half a century later is nowhere near it.
I’m semi-encouraged by this, but I doubt that it goes far enough. The range rules go back to the 50s, when Our Rockets Always Blow Up. They need to be updated to the 21st century, particularly for reusable vehicles in which shedding parts down range is an anomaly, not routine.