Russia’s space program has apparently threatened to leave an American astronaut aboard the International Space Station as it comes crashing down to Earth in a video shared by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Mark Vande Hei, a married 55-year-old father of two from Texas, is scheduled to return to Kazakhstan from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30 after spending nearly a year on board.
But amid United States’ sanctions against Russia for the human rights violations it is committing in its siege of Ukraine, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave him in space.
He even took the time to produce the chilling video, which was posted to Twitter by NASA Watch.
It features up-beat music with the lyric ‘Farewell’ as the two cosmonauts on board the ISS with Vande Hei wave him goodbye and detach Russia’s segment of the station – which would send it spiraling to Earth.
RIA Novosti captioned it: ‘The Roscosmos television studio jokingly demonstrated the possibility of Russia withdrawing from the ISS project — the undocking of the Russian segment of the station, without which the American part of the project cannot exist,’ according to a translation from Newsweek.
NASA ‘s Mark Vande Hei (pictured) is due to return from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30
Vande Hei (far right) has been on board the ISS with the two Russian cosmonauts since last April. But Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave the 55-year-old father-of-two in space – or even send the space station crashing back down to Earth – in retaliation for the US supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion
A video posted to Twitter showed the cosmonauts waving goodbye to Vande Hei
Vande Hei’s mother Mary, 77, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It’s a terrible threat. When I first heard it I did a lot of crying. It’s very troubling. We are just doing a lot of praying.’
Mary, a retired teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, pleaded for peace, adding: ‘It is really a shame that it’s been politicized like this. It’s quite a shock. His wife, Julie, is very worried in Texas. It’s very hard for her right now.’
Recalling how she and her husband Tom had joined their son in Kazakhstan in 2017 when he was launched to the ISS for his first six-month tour of duty in space, she said: ‘It was wonderful to see people from all different countries work together. Mark has great relationships with all the astronauts and cosmonauts.’
Tom, 80, a retired information systems executive, added: ‘These threats are just one person speaking and, though it’s the head of the Russian space agency, all the other people within the space agency seem very co-operative.
‘Our son does not scare easily.’
Thomas Kirkman, a physics professor at St. John’s University, who taught Vande Hei as an undergraduate, also said his work ethic, education and military experience will help him deal with the unfolding tension with professionalism.
‘I suspect he’s looking out the window at Ukraine occasionally,’ Kirkman told the Star Tribune. ‘But he’s been a colonel, so he knows how to deal with people under tough situations.
‘He’s the right guy to be up there,’ he said, adding: ‘I’m less confident about the people that are in Moscow, but I suspect the people that are on the space station are professionals.’
Vande Hei is a married father of two. He is pictured with his wife, Julie
Vande Hei’s family has expressed concerns over the threats made in the video
His parents, second and third from right, said their son has good relations with the cosmonauts and other astronauts from other countries
Vande Hei was born in Virginia, and raised in New Jersey and Minnesota.
He earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from St. John’s University in 1989, before being commissioned in the Army through the ROTC program, where he served as a combat engineer.
In 1999, he became an assistant professor of physics at the United States Military Academy in West Point, and 10 years later he was selected as an astronaut.
His first space flight was in 2018, as an Expedition 53/54 crew member, during which he conducted spacewalks, researched microgravity and measured the sun’s energy input to Earth.
He joined the two Russian cosmonauts on the Expedition 64/65 crew last April, tasked with conducting hundreds of experiments to learn more about living in space, which NASA said was critical ‘to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, and those insights gained will help send humans to the moon and eventually to Mars.’
In September, Vande Hei spoke to students and staff at his alma mater, saying: ‘I became an astronaut for the opportunity to explore a combination of mental and physical challenges.
‘It’s a job that you have the ability to contribute to all human-kind.’
Vande Hei’s last tweet was from February 21, when he shared an aerial view of Washington D.C. and a quote by George Washington: ‘I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love.’
In fresh threats over the weekend, Rogozin (pictured) claimed that ‘illegal’ sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to crash down over Western countries
Rogozin threatened to leave American astronauts in space in response to President Joe Biden announcing sanctions against Russia, which he said would ‘degrade their aerospace industry, including their space program.’
‘Do you want to destroy our co-operation on the ISS? If you block co-operation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the United States or Europe?’ he has asked.
Then, after trading barbs with retired astronaut Scott Kelly over a separate video in which workers covered depictions of American and Japanese flags, Rogozin wrote in a now-deleted tweet: ‘Get off, you moron! Otherwise the death of the ISS will be on your conscience!’
But Kelly said the video leaving Vande Hei on the International Space Station went too far.
‘It kind of enraged me that the country that we had been in this international partnership for 20 years would take the time to make a video to threaten to leave behind one of the crew members they are responsible for,’ he told the Wall Street Journal.
‘They agreed to be responsible for his safety, getting him to the space station and getting him home,’ Kelly explained. ‘For me, that kind of just crossed the line.’
Still, Rogozin has doubled down on his threats, claiming over the weekend that ‘illegal’ sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to crash down over Western countries.
He said: ‘The populations of other countries, especially those led by the “dogs of war,” should think about the price of the sanctions against Roscosmos.’
Elon Musk has now offered to send his SpaceX rocket to rescue the US astronaut if the Russians abandon him, but NASA officials say they are confident Vande Hei will return as planned.
‘NASA continues working with Roscomos and our other international partners in Canada, Europe and Japan to maintain safe and continuous International Space Station operations.
‘On March 30, a Soyuz spacecraft will return as scheduled carrying NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov back to Earth,’ it vowed.
‘Upon their return, Vande Hei will hold the American record for the longest single human spaceflight mission of 355 days.’
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