Space has typically been an area for international cooperation, insulated from geopolitical tensions that flare up on the surface of the planet. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already sparked tensions that stretch into Earth’s orbit, putting the future of the International Space Station and other Russian space endeavors in peril.
And that’s led us to an absurd Twitter fight between former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, and the current head of the Russian space program Dmitry Rogozin.
Rogozin—who is already no stranger to incendiary remarks—has been on a tweet spree since the invasion began, in one post suggesting that his country was prepared to let the ISS fall out of orbit and crash into Earth.
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On March 2, Rogozin tweeted that he thought Russian rockets looked “more beautiful” after the flags of international partners were removed from the vehicles, following a scrubbed launch for UK-based company OneWeb.
That’s when Kelly jumped in. On March 8, the former astronaut posted a reply in Russian: “Without those flags and the foreign exchange they bring in, your space program won't be worth a damn. Maybe you can find a job at McDonald's if McDonald's still exists in Russia.” Kelly addressed Rogozin as “Dimon,” the diminutive form of Dmitry.
(Spoiler alert: Russia’s Mcdonald’s locations are closing up.)
The two started to exchange some vitriolic remarks. Rogozin called Kelly “a moron” and told him to get off Twitter, “Otherwise the death of the International Space Station will be on your conscience.” The Russian space chief later deleted that tweet.
Kelly, however, was internet-savvy enough to screenshot it, posting it and writing in Russian: “Dimon, why did you delete this tweet? Don’t want everyone to see what kind of child you are?”
That post seemed to have struck a nerve. Rogozin fired back: “You are being defiant and destructive,” according to Google’s translation. “Perhaps the dementia and aggression that you have developed is a consequence of the overload and stress of four flights into space. I invite you to undergo an examination at the Brain Institute of our Federal Medical and Biological Agency.”
Kelly, whose astronaut twin brother Mark was elected to the U.S. senate in 2020, has been actively tweeting support for Ukraine since the invasion began, posting in Russian regularly, and beefing with other public figures besides Rogozin (like Russian journalist Vladimir Solovyov.) It’s an unexpected sight to see for the man who made history in 2016 when he broke the record for the longest time in space for an American on a single mission. But Kelly has been retired from NASA for almost six years now, and he seems to have lost his patience with Rogozin’s online provocations.
Meanwhile, Russia’s relations with its ISS partners have been fraying fast. The country is technically committed to the space station until 2024, but the possibility that it might withdraw early has grown tremendously in recent weeks.
