Cosmonaut removed from SpaceX’s Crew 12 mission for violating national security rules: report

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A Russian spaceplane has been removed from SpaceX’s upcoming astronaut mission for violating U.S. national security regulations, according to a news report.

Oleg Artemyev, from the Russian space agency Roscosmoshad manifested itself on SpaceX’s Crew 12, a four-person mission scheduled to launch around the International Space Station (ISS) from February.

His compatriot Andrei Fedyayev recently took his place, a “decision taken in connection with the transfer of Oleg Artemyev to another position,” Roscosmos officials said today (December 2). in a statement (in Russian; Google translation). But that’s not all, according to the Russian investigative site The Insider.

This morning, The insider reported that Artemyev, 54, was allegedly removed from Crew 12 for violating the ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Rules), a US law that aims to safeguard national security by restricting the dissemination of sensitive information and technology.

“The cosmonaut would have photographed EspaceX documentation and then “used his phone” to export classified information,” The Insider wrote (in Russian; Google translation), citing the work of launch analyst Gregory Trishkin.

“My contacts confirm that a breach has occurred and an interdepartmental investigation has been opened,” Trishkin told The Insider. “Removing someone from a mission two and a half months before the mission without a clear explanation is rather an indirect sign, but it is indicative. It is very difficult to imagine a situation in which an experienced cosmonaut could inadvertently commit such a gross violation.”

The Insider also cited a Sunday (December 1) report by a Russian spaceflight channel on Telegram called “Yura, forgive me!” According to this report, the violations took place last week, while Artemyev was training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. He allegedly photographed SpaceX engines and other sensitive technology with his phone.

Crew 12 is the 12th operational astronaut mission that SpaceX will fly to the ISS under a contract with NASA. Space.com reached out to SpaceX and NASA for comment on the Artemyev situation, but has not yet received a response.

Artemyev spent a total of 560 days in space during three long-duration missions to the ISS, launching in March 2014, March 2018 and March 2022.

This latest flight took off just a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking a war that continues to this day. In July 2022, Roscosmos published photos of Artemyev and two of his fellow cosmonauts on the ISS holding the flags of two Russian-backed separatist territories in Ukraine. NASA and the head of European Space Agency (ESA) condemned the photo shoot, emphasizing that the orbiting laboratory should not be used as a propaganda platform in wartime.

The launch of Crew 12 is scheduled for February 15 at the earliest. It will send Fedyaev, Sophie Adenot from ESA and two still unknown astronauts to the ISS for a stay of around six months.