SpaceX has taken the dramatic step of removing a Russian cosmonaut from an upcoming crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) following allegations of a serious security breach.
The Alleged Security Incident
According to a report by The Insider, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was caught taking unauthorised photographs of SpaceX's rocket engines and other classified documentation. The 54-year-old, a decorated Hero of Russia, was slated to be part of a four-person crew for the Crew-12 mission, scheduled for launch no earlier than 15 February.
Artemyev is a highly experienced spacefarer, having completed three previous missions to the orbiting laboratory, accumulating a total of 560 days in space, with his most recent stay in 2022. Space industry analyst Georgy Trishkin commented on the incident, stating it was “hard to imagine an experienced cosmonaut making such a serious mistake unintentionally.”
Official Responses and Replacement
The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, issued a statement on Telegram offering a different explanation. It claimed the “decision was made due to Oleg Artemyev's transfer to another job” and praised him as a national hero, providing no further details. Neither NASA nor SpaceX has publicly commented on Artemyev's removal.
Fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev has been named as Artemyev's replacement for the mission. The crew is expected to spend approximately six months aboard the ISS.
Broader Context for Russian Spaceflight
This security incident comes at a precarious time for Russia's human spaceflight capabilities. In a separate development, Russia recently lost its ability to launch crews into space after its sole crewed launch site suffered major damage.
The launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan partially collapsed into an exhaust trench during the launch of the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on 27 November. Roscosmos confirmed the site is unusable pending repairs, marking the first time since 1961 that Russia lacks an operational crewed launch facility. The agency stated that while all necessary components for restoration are available, no specific timeframe for repairs has been given.
The confluence of these events—a high-profile security allegation against a seasoned cosmonaut and a critical infrastructure failure—presents significant challenges for Roscosmos and international space cooperation.
