The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, made news because there was a video showing the threat that American astronauts would be left behind at the International Space Station (ISS). Russia also spoke about this.
As reported, the head of the Russian space agency Dmitry Rogozin has threatened to leave NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei on the ISS in retaliation to US sanctions imposed on Russia. It was shown in the Russian media.
Vande Hei is scheduled to return to Earth on March 30 with two Russian cosmonauts, Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov. They used a Russian Soyuz MS-19 capsule with a landing site in Kazakhstan.
In the latest news, Russia's TASS news agency stated that Roscosmos would still carry out its original plan, which was to bring back the Vande Hei from the ISS on their Soyuz plane.
"United States astronaut Mark Vande Hei will return home on the Soyuz MS-19 plane with Russian astronauts on March 30. Roscosmos has never allowed anyone to doubt their reliability as partners," TASS quoted us from Futurism as saying, Tuesday (15 (15). /3/2022).
That way, NASA and the Vande Hei family can rest easy after a moment of panic. "What a terrible threat. The first time I heard it, I cried. We prayed a lot," said Mark's mother, Mary, who is 77 years old.
Should Russia actually live up to its threat, there is still an alternative to bringing Vande Hei home. There are still several US astronauts currently in space, as well as two German astronauts. Vande Hei can hitch a ride in their vehicle or if needed, wait for a pick-up from SpaceX.
However, the Russian threat, whether intended as a joke or not, still sparked disappointment, especially on the American side.
"It infuriates me that a country with which we have been an international partner for 20 years, had time to make a video threatening to leave one of the crew under their charge on the ISS," said former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly.
