| Date: | 2022-05-09 06:29:00 | |
| Sender: | Daniel Michal Kucharski <allsky@utexas.edu> | |
| Subject: | [SLR-Mail] No.2755: Community letter regarding Governing Board´s approval of GLONASS | |
| Author: | unknown | |
| Content: | Dear Chairman Prof. Toshimichi Otsubo and Members of the Governing Board, Dear Members of ILRS, The review of CDDIS Data Center reveals that NASA remains the only member institution of ILRS that continuously supports satellites of the Russian regime. Out of 29 ILRS stations before the war, there are currently only 2 systems, both of NASA, that continue publishing GLONASS data as they are collected. Nearly all of the ILRS stations have decided to stop supporting GLONASS. These are not random choices, but important decisions made with respect to the facts and official policies. Despite this strong signal, the ILRS Governing Board neglects the arguments and remains in opposition to the member institutions by upholding its approval of GLONASS. Dear Chairman and Members of the Governing Board, GLONASS is an active system of the Russian regime that conducts a criminal, inhumane military invasion of Ukraine, and as such is not neutral. Your approval of GLONASS not only breaks the neutrality of ILRS, but also creates a costly precedent that allows bad actors to enjoy ILRS support of their dual-use satellites if only the geoscientific purpose of the mission is satisfied. Is the existing evidence not convincing enough to you? Where is your red line? What more needs to happen in this illegal war to stop the Governing Board from supporting the satellite missions of the criminal Russian regime? GLONASS can no longer enjoy the status of ILRS approved mission. The Board must speak for the member institutions that it represents and vote on withdrawing the approval of GLONASS now. Dear Members of ILRS, many of us have been trying to contact the Governing Board privately in hope of a dialog, but all we receive is a silent treatment that pushes us out to the public square. We must speak up and demand the Chairman to discuss the approval of GLONASS with the community. What factors are taken into account and what others are neglected in this case? Our community deserves transparency! Sincerely yours, Daniel Kucharski Mykhaylo Medvedskyy Yaroslav S. Yatskiv Ludwig Combrinck Pawel Lejba David Arnold John Degnan Ron Noomen Kalvis Salmi Tomasz Suchodolski ------------- P.S. On March 16 the Russian war has been ruled illegal by the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114052 On April 7, Russia has been suspended from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights” by Russian military in Ukraine: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115782 Dear Chairman Prof. Toshimichi Otsubo and Members of the Governing Board, Dear Members of ILRS, The review of CDDIS Data Center reveals that NASA remains the only member institution of ILRS that continuously supports satellites of the Russian regime. Out of 29 ILRS stations before the war, there are currently only 2 systems, both of NASA, that continue publishing GLONASS data as they are collected. Nearly all of the ILRS stations have decided to stop supporting GLONASS. These are not random choices, but important decisions made with respect to the facts and official policies. Despite this strong signal, the ILRS Governing Board neglects the arguments and remains in opposition to the member institutions by upholding its approval of GLONASS. Dear Chairman and Members of the Governing Board, GLONASS is an active system of the Russian regime that conducts a criminal, inhumane military invasion of Ukraine, and as such is not neutral. Your approval of GLONASS not only breaks the neutrality of ILRS, but also creates a costly precedent that allows bad actors to enjoy ILRS support of their dual-use satellites if only the geoscientific purpose of the mission is satisfied. Is the existing evidence not convincing enough to you? Where is your red line? What more needs to happen in this illegal war to stop the Governing Board from supporting the satellite missions of the criminal Russian regime? GLONASS can no longer enjoy the status of ILRS approved mission. The Board must speak for the member institutions that it represents and vote on withdrawing the approval of GLONASS now. Dear Members of ILRS, many of us have been trying to contact the Governing Board privately in hope of a dialog, but all we receive is a silent treatment that pushes us out to the public square. We must speak up and demand the Chairman to discuss the approval of GLONASS with the community. What factors are taken into account and what others are neglected in this case? Our community deserves transparency! Sincerely yours, Daniel Kucharski Mykhaylo Medvedskyy Yaroslav S. Yatskiv Ludwig Combrinck Pawel Lejba David Arnold John Degnan Ron Noomen Kalvis Salmi Tomasz Suchodolski P.S. On March 16 the Russian war has been ruled illegal by the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114052 On April 7, Russia has been suspended from the UN Human Rights Council over reports of gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" by Russian military in Ukraine: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115782 |