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Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian space agency chief known for his frequent clashes online with SpaceX boss Elon Musk, has been ousted from his job, the Kremlin revealed Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has tabbed Yuri Borisov, a former deputy prime minister, to replace Rogozin as head of Roscosmos. The Kremlin did not provide a reason for its decision to replace Rogozin, who had helmed the Russian space agency since 2018.
Rogozin’s exit occurred on the same day that NASA and Roscosmos reached terms on a new agreement to collaborate on International Space Station missions despite ongoing tensions over the Kremlin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Public spats between the bellicose Rogozin and Musk have intensified since the Russian invasion began in late February. Rogozin sparked concern earlier this year after he bizarrely suggested that the International Space Station could plummet from the sky if Russia withdrew its cooperation.
“If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the United States or Europe?” Rogozin tweeted in Russian, according to a translation.
Musk replied to Rogozin’s thread with an image of the SpaceX logo — and later confirmed that his private space firm was prepared to assist operations at the ISS.
Later, Rogozin ripped Musk for assisting Ukraine by providing “Starlink” satellite internet terminals during the invasion despite SpaceX’s status as a civilian firm — asserting that the billionaire had “chosen his side” in the war.
Musk fired back, slyly replying that SpaceX only provided its help after Ukrainian citizens began experiencing “strange” internet outages.
SpaceX also trolled Rogozin during a launch in March after he said NASA could lose access to Russian “world’s best rocket engines” — adding the US would have to “fly on something else like their broomsticks.”
Musk has yet to publicly comment on Rogozin’s exit.
A staunch Putin ally, Rogozin has also frequently touted Russia’s nuclear strike capabilities during the Ukraine war and once declared that cooperation with Western officials was “impossible,” according to Reuters.
The Kremlin said Rogozin will receive a new role, according to Russian state media — but it’s unclear what his next gig will be.
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