The Russian space program has apparently threatened to leave a US astronaut aboard the International Space Station when it crashes to Earth, in a video released by Russian state media RIA Novosti.
Mark Vande Hey, a married 55-year-old father of two from Texas, is due to return to Kazakhstan from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30, having spent nearly a year on board. .
But amid United States sanctions against Russia for human rights violations it commits during the siege of Ukraine, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave him in space.
He even took the time to film a chilling video that NASA Watch posted on Twitter.
It features upbeat music with the lyric “Goodbye” as two astronauts aboard the ISS with Vande Hey wave goodbye to him and separate the Russian segment of the station, which will send him spiraling back to Earth.
RIA Novosti signed it: “The Roscosmos television studio jokingly demonstrated the possibility of Russia withdrawing from the ISS project – undocking the Russian segment of the station, without which the American part of the project cannot exist,” Newsweek said in a translation. .
Mark Vande Hey of NASA (pictured) is due to return from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30.
Vande Hey (far right) has been on board the ISS with two Russian cosmonauts since April last year. But Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave the 55-year-old father of two in space — or even send a space station back to Earth — in retaliation for the U.S. backing Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
A video posted on Twitter shows the astronauts saying goodbye to Vande Hey.
Vande Hey’s mother, Mary, 77, told The Mail on Sunday: “This is a terrible threat. When I first heard this, I cried a lot. This is very disturbing. We just pray a lot.”
Mary, a retired teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, pleaded for peace, adding, “It’s really a shame that it was so politicized. This is a real shock. His wife Julie is very worried in Texas. It’s really hard for her right now.”
Recalling how she and her husband Tom joined their son in Kazakhstan in 2017 when he was launched to the ISS for his first six-month stay in space, she said: “It was great to see people from different countries working together. . Mark has a great relationship with all the astronauts and cosmonauts.”
Tom, 80, a retired head of information systems, added: “These threats come from just one person, and although he is the head of the Russian space agency, everyone else in the space agency seems very accommodating.
“Our son is not easily frightened.”
Thomas Kirkman, a professor of physics at St. John’s University who taught Vande Hey as a student, also said his work ethic, education and military experience will help him cope professionally with the growing stress.
“I suspect he looks out the window at Ukraine from time to time,” Kirkman told the Star Tribune. “But he was a colonel, so he knows how to deal with people in difficult situations.
“He’s exactly the kind of guy who should be there,” he said, adding, “I’m less sure about the people who are in Moscow, but I suspect that the people who are on the space station are professionals.”
Vande Hey is a married father of two children. He is pictured with his wife Julie.
Vande Hey’s family expressed concern about the threats contained in the video.
His parents, second and third from right, said that their son has a good relationship with astronauts and other astronauts from other countries.
Vande Hey was born in Virginia and raised in New Jersey and Minnesota.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in physics from St. John’s University in 1989 before being drafted into the Army through the ROTC program, where he served as a military engineer.
In 1999, he became an assistant professor of physics at the US Military Academy at West Point, and 10 years later he was selected as an astronaut.
His first space flight took place in 2018 as part of the Expedition 53/54 crew, during which he performed spacewalks, explored microgravity and measured the flow of solar energy to Earth.
Last April, he joined two Russian cosmonauts on the Expedition 64/65 crew, who were tasked with conducting hundreds of experiments to learn more about life in space, which NASA says is critical to “understanding and overcoming the challenges of long-term space exploration.” flight and the information obtained will help send people to the moon and, ultimately, to Mars.”
In September, Vande Hey addressed the students and staff of his alma mater, saying, “I became an astronaut because of the opportunity to explore a combination of mental and physical challenges.
“This is a job where you can help all of humanity.”
Vande Hey’s last tweet was on February 21, when he shared an aerial view of Washington, D.C. and a quote from George Washington: “I was called by my country, whose voice I never hear except with reverence and love.”
In new threats over the weekend, Rogozin (pictured) said “illegal” sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to fall over Western countries.
Rogozin threatened to keep US astronauts in space in response to President Joe Biden’s announcement of sanctions against Russia, which he said would “worsen their aerospace industry, including their space program.”
– Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS? If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the US or Europe? – he asked.
Then, after exchanging barbs with retired astronaut Scott Kelly over a separate video in which workers were illuminating images of American and Japanese flags, Rogozin tweeted, now deleted, “Back off, jerk! Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be on your conscience!”
But Kelly said the video of Vande Hey leaving the International Space Station has gone too far.
“It made me a little angry that the country that we have been in this international partnership for 20 years has taken the time to make a video to threaten to leave one of the crew members they are responsible for,” he told the Wall Street Journal. .
“They agreed to be responsible for his safety, get him to the space station and get him home,” Kelly explained. “For me, it just crossed the line.”
Nevertheless, Rogozin redoubled his threats, saying over the weekend that “illegal” sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to fall over Western nations.
He said: “The population of other countries, especially those led by the “dogs of war”, should think about the cost of sanctions against Roskosmos.
Elon Musk has offered to send his SpaceX rocket to rescue an American astronaut if the Russians abandon him, but NASA officials say they are confident Vande Hey will return as planned.
“NASA continues to work with Roscomos and our other international partners in Canada, Europe and Japan to keep the International Space Station safe and uninterrupted.
On March 30, the Soyuz spacecraft will return as scheduled and deliver NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hey and cosmonauts Petr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov to Earth.
“Upon Vande Hey’s return, he will hold the American record for the longest single space mission at 355 days.”