Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian space chief engage in Twitter fight

CNN — An extraordinary war of words is transpiring between the head of Russia’s space agency and one of NASA’s most famous former astronauts as the US-Russian partnership at the International Space Station hits its lowest point since its inception. https://t.co/n8jMTX34pW pic.twitter.com/qpI1YNKps3 — Scott Kelly March 9, 2022 Social media propaganda Kelly said in an interview earlier this week that he felt compelled to speak out after Rogozin shared a Roscosmos-produced video showing two Russian cosmonauts floating inside the space station waving goodbye to NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who is supposed to return to Earth with them on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30. There are currently four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts, and one European Space Agency astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station. “And if they want to leave me up here, then I’ll find another way home.” Kelly, who is fluent in Russian after spending several years training in Moscow’s Star City, commends most Roscosmos employees for being “professional, reasonable people” who “want this partnership to continue.” International cooperation NASA has remained silent on Rogozin’s most recent threats to abandon Vande Hei and detach the Russian segment from the space station. In a statement Wednesday, NASA said it “remains focused on continuous safe operations of the International Space Station and there is no change to the agency’s support for ongoing in-orbit and crew return operations.” “Staffing levels for NASA personnel in Russia fluctuate based on operational demands,” the statement reads.