Russian Cosmonaut Allegedly Took and Distributed Photos of Sensitive Technology

A Russian Cosmonaut has been abruptly removed from SpaceX’s upcoming Crew-12 mission after reportedly violating US national security regulations during pre-flight training. Oleg Artemyev, a veteran Roscosmos astronaut with more than 560 cumulative days in orbit, has now been replaced by fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev.

Artemyev was originally assigned to the four-person mission launching to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as February 15. Crew-12 will mark SpaceX’s twelfth operational flight to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, carrying one Cosmonaut, the European Space Agency’s Sophie Adenot, and two additional NASA astronauts yet to be formally announced. The crew is slated to spend approximately six months aboard the orbital laboratory.

The 54-year-old was initially chosen due to his stance as one of Roscosmos’s most experienced active cosmonauts, having flown three long-duration ISS missions in 2014, 2018, and 2022. His most recent flight occurred during the early months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and later drew criticism from NASA and the European Space Agency after Roscosmos published photos of Artemyev and two colleagues displaying separatist flags onboard the ISS.

Roscosmos had a blunt explanation for the last-second swap, connecting it to Artemyev’s “transfer to another job.” However, an independent investigative outlet reported that the real cause was a breach of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR): a U.S. law restricting unauthorized access to controlled aerospace and defense technologies. According to the report, Artemyev allegedly photographed SpaceX engines, documentation, and other sensitive hardware while training at the company’s Hawthorne, California headquarters.

NASA and SpaceX have yet to address the reported incident. Under NASA’s partnership framework, international crew assignments are typically finalized roughly a year before launch to allow sufficient time for mission-specific training across each participating agency.

FMI: www.nasa.gov