"Oleg Artemyev is said to have been accused of photographing classified documents and rocket equipment at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, and then 'smuggling' that information out of the building on his phone in late November. The 54-year-old was scheduled to be part of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, led by NASA, heading to the International Space Station (ISS) in early 2026."
"ITAR is a set of US government rules that tightly control the export, sharing, or transmission of sensitive defense-related technologies, information, and items, including spacecraft components and technical blueprints. Russian investigative outlet The Insider reported that an international probe has been launched into Artemyev's actions. At the moment, there are no claims that the alleged incident took place in order to harm the US."
Oleg Artemyev was removed from the NASA-led SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the ISS scheduled for early 2026 and replaced by cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Reports allege Artemyev photographed classified documents and rocket equipment at a SpaceX facility in Hawthorne, California, then smuggled the information out on his phone in late November. Roscosmos said the change reflected Artemyev's transfer to another job, while other Russian outlets say he violated International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), prompting an international probe. ITAR tightly controls export and sharing of sensitive defense-related technologies, including spacecraft components and technical blueprints. Authorities say there are no claims the incident aimed to harm the US, though intentional delivery to a foreign government could constitute espionage.
Read at Mail Online
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