Russian cosmonaut suspended from SpaceX mission for attempting to pass classified data
American edition Space.com reports that the Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemiev removed from the mission crew SpaceX Crew-12 due to an attempt to transfer classified technical information.
According to journalists, Artemyev took photos of internal SpaceX documents containing sensitive data and then tried to pass them on to a third party. The astronaut's actions were classified as a violation of federal law ITAR - US rules for controlling international trade in arms and technology.
Investigation
The US has already launched interagency investigation, The investigation is being conducted by several national security agencies. According to Space.com, the astronaut was immediately suspended from the flight, and his participation in the cooperation programme was effectively terminated.
Currently, Artemiev's place in the Crew-12 mission is planned to be replaced by another crew member so that the launch is not disrupted.
Context.
This is the first time that a representative of the Russian space corps has been officially removed from a SpaceX mission due to violation of US security regulations.
US-Russian cooperation in the space sector has been under great pressure in recent years due to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and numerous scandals over technology transfer.
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