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. Artemyev, 54, was scheduled to be part of a four-person crew launching in February on the Crew-12 mission.
The Insider reported that Artemyev allegedly took photos of SpaceX rocket engines and classified documentation. 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 giving further details. It described Artemyev, who has spent 560 days in space across three missions, as a “hero of Russia.”
NASA and SpaceX have not commented. Fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev has been named as Artemyev's replacement for the Crew-12 mission, which is scheduled to launch no earlier than 15 February, with crew members spending six months aboard the ISS.
Russia recently lost its ability to launch people into space after its only crewed-mission launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan suffered major damage during a rocket launch on 27 November. The launchpad partially collapsed into an exhaust trench during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. Roscosmos said the launchpad would be unusable until repairs are made, but did not provide a timeframe.
