4.12.2025
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev has been removed from the SpaceX Crew 12 mission after being accused of compromising U.S. national security.
Artemyev, 54, is accused of accessing sensitive information in violation of the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations law that restricts the distribution of information and technology that are deemed important for national security, according to Space.com.
"The cosmonaut allegedly photographed SpaceX documentation and then 'used his phone' to export classified information," Space.com said while citing a report by Russian investigative website The Insider.
"A violation occurred and an interdepartmental investigation has been launched," the report said, while citing launch analyst Georgy Trishkin as the source.
"Removing someone from a mission two and a half months before the mission without a clear explanation is more of an indirect sign, but it's indicative," Trishkin said.
"It's very difficult to imagine a situation in which an experienced cosmonaut could inadvertently commit such a gross violation," he added.
Artemyev is accused of using his phone to photograph SpaceX engines and other secretive technology while training last week at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.
Artemyev has been transferred to other duties, and cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev has taken his place on the mission, Roscosmos officials confirmed on Tuesday, The Moscow Times reported.
Fedyayev ia a "Hero of Russia" who became a commissioned cosmonaut in 2013 and was awarded the Uri Gagarin Medal in 2023 -- the same year that he completed a flight to the International Space Station while aboard the Crew Dragon manned spacecraft, according to Roscosmos.
The crew change comes after NASA and Russia's Roscosmos space agency resumed cooperative spaceflights in September 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier that year.
Artemyev was a crew member of a joint Roscosmos-European Space Agency mission that included a spacewalk at the International Space Station in July 2022.
The cosmonaut also expressed support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine after he and other cosmonauts wore yellow spacesuits with blue trim, that some suggested might indicate support for Ukraine shortly after Russia invaded its neighbor.
Quelle: UPI