Russian astronaut removed from SpaceX flight due to ITAR violation: details of the scandal.

According to Korrespondent.net: Oleg Artemyev, the Russian astronaut, was removed from the main crew of the Crew-12 mission a few months before the scheduled flight to the ISS. His place will be taken by Andrey Fedyaev.

Reasons for removal

Rocket launch specialist Georgy Trishkin noted that this removal is related to a serious violation of American international arms trade regulations (ITAR). Artemyev allegedly photographed SpaceX engines and internal documentation during preparations at the company's facility in Hawthorne and then took these materials off the secure site on his phone.

Investigation

In a conversation with The Insider, Trishkin reported that a interagency investigation has been initiated regarding this incident:

'My contacts confirm that there was a violation, and an interagency check has begun. Removal from flight without clear explanations two and a half months before the launch is rather an indirect but quite telling sign. It's hard to imagine that an experienced astronaut could inadvertently commit such a gross violation.'

Trishkin also noted that NASA is trying to avoid public disclosure of this scandal. However, the Russian side officially explained the replacement only as 'Artemyev's transition to another job.'

Situation with SpaceX and NASA

Currently, there are no official comments from NASA or SpaceX regarding the details of a potential ITAR violation.

It is worth noting that it was previously reported that SpaceX has surpassed the milestone of 10,000 Starlink satellites. This success indicates the rapid development of the company; however, the incident involving Artemyev may affect future cooperation between Russia and American space agencies. Time will tell how these events will influence international space missions and relationships in the field.