"My contacts confirm that a violation occurred and an interdepartmental investigation has been launched."

A Russian spaceflyer was pulled from SpaceX’s next astronaut mission for violating U.S. national security regulations, according to a media report.

This morning, The Insider reported that Artemyev, 54, was apparently removed from Crew 12 for violations of ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), a U.S. law that seeks to safeguard national security by restricting the dissemination of sensitive information and technology.

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

  • Tar_Alcaran@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    67·
    21 hours ago

    The current administration prefers to call Russians who copy your secrets anything from “trusted partner” to “good friend”, depending on the size of the bribe and/or the number of skeletons in the closet.