SpaceX has removed Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev from an upcoming mission to the International Space Station (ISS) over national security concerns, according to a report by The Insider. Artemyev, 54, was scheduled to be part of the four-person Crew-12 mission launching in February, but was allegedly found to have taken photos of SpaceX rocket engines and classified documentation.
Artemyev, a veteran of three previous ISS missions with a total of 560 days in space, has been replaced by fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev. Space industry analyst Georgy Trishkin commented, 'It’s hard to imagine an experienced cosmonaut making such a serious mistake unintentionally.'
Russian space agency Roscosmos stated on Telegram that the decision was made due to Artemyev's transfer to another job, without providing further details, and described him as a 'hero of Russia'. Neither NASA nor SpaceX have commented on the removal.
The Crew-12 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 15 February, with crew members set to spend six months aboard the ISS. This development comes as Russia recently lost its ability to launch people into space after its only crewed-mission launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was damaged during a rocket launch on 27 November. The launchpad partially collapsed into an exhaust trench, and Roscosmos said it would be unusable until repairs are made, though no timeframe was given. This marks the first time since 1961 that Russia lacks the capability to launch a crewed rocket.
