Russia demands explanation over US snub to space chief

Russia's space agency on Saturday demanded an explanation after NASA put off a planned visit to the United States by Russia's controversial space chief.

Dmitry Rogozin, a firebrand nationalist politician known for his anti-Western rhetoric, was set to visit the US in February but NASA said Friday that it was postponing his visit indefinitely.

Rogozin, appointed by President Vladimir Putin in May last year and previously a deputy prime minister, is blacklisted and under US sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Russia's Roscosmos space agency said in a statement that "it expects official explanations of NASA's position" and stressed that Rogozin's visit was planned "in accordance with an invitation received earlier."

It added a veiled warning that preparations for talks on cooperation with the US on the ISS programme and deep space exploration are "so far not suspended."

The row comes as space exploration remains one of the few areas where Washington and Moscow continue active cooperation despite political tensions. The US needs Russia to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.

NASA said in a statement Friday it had told Roscosmos that Rogozin's visit would "need to be postponed" and a new date "has not been identified," USA Today reported.

Plans for Rogozin to visit NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston had prompted protests from US senators.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said in a statement Wednesday that NASA's invitation to Rogozin "undercuts our message and undermines the United States' core national security objectives."

The rescinded invitation came after NASA chief Jim Bridenstine visited Russia in October, his first trip after he took up his post.

He observed the failed launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying two Russian and NASA astronauts who managed to make an emergency landing.

He told TASS state news agency at the time that NASA had managed to temporarily lift US sanctions on Rogozin to allow him to visit.

Rogozin has clashed with the US, suggesting American astronauts should use trampolines instead of Russian rockets to reach the ISS after Washington imposed sanctions over Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

He recently joked Russia would send a mission to the Moon to "verify" whether NASA lunar landings ever took place.

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Roscosmos chief's visit to US in keeping with historical norms
Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 04, 2019
NASA defended its invitation to Roscosmos Director-General Dmitry Rogozin to speak at the space agency's Houston headquarters in early 2019 from detractors in Washington who say the sanctioned Russian official's visit "sends the wrong message." "The US/Russian relationship in space dates back to the 1970s," NASA spokeswoman Megan Powers said in a statement to Politico January 1. "NASA has historically invited the head of the Russian space agency to visit the United States. Following this pre ... read more