VLADIMIR Putin’s space chief has threatened to cause “DEATH of the ISS” in a venomous spat with one of Nasa’s most famous former astronauts.
The future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance, as relations between the US and Russia hit rock bottom over the invasion of Ukraine.
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Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin has been locked in a war of words with Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the space station in 2015.
The American engineer has been critical of Rogozin’s hostile comments on social media since the West began imposing sanctions on Russia.
His worst threat warned President Joe Biden that he could let the ISS drop onto the US or Europe.
In a deleted tweet, Rogozin apparently called the former astronaut a “moron” who should “get off” social media.
“Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be on your conscience,” he warned.
Kelly shared a screenshot of the tweet, saying in Russian: “Why did you delete this tweet?
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“Don’t want everyone to see what kind of child you are?”
Rogozin hit back at Kelly, saying he will “not allow you to behave like that”.
“Perhaps the dementia and aggression that you have developed is a consequence of the overload and stress of four flights into space,” he said.
Russia’s space chief seemingly couldn’t hack the argument and resorted to blocking Kelly.
Russia leaves US astronaut behind on ISS in mock video
Speaking to CNN, the former astronaut said he thought it was important to speak out after seeing an alleged Roscosmos-produced mock video of Russia detaching its part of the ISS from the other half.
It showed two Russian cosmonauts waving goodbye to Nasa astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who is due to return to Earth on a Russian spacecraft on March 30.
“It’s just unimaginable that the Russian space program would leave a person behind in space that they were responsible for bringing home,” he said.
Nasa has steered clear of Rogozin’s remarks.
Last week, the agency said there were no signs Russia is preparing to withdraw from the ISS.
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In other news, prudish Nasa has admitted it may have to study sex in space if humanity is ever going to make it to other planets.
An ancient mega-landslide deep under the ocean has been uncovered which could cause a massive tsunami with “just a little shake in the wrong place”.
Samsung has been accused of throttling the performance of more than 10,000 apps running on its latest smartphone.
And Nasa will let you send your name on a flight around the Moon – for FREE.
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