Elon Musk apparently threatened by Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin
Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin has clearly threatened Elon Musk, but the SpaceX founder and CEO doesn’t seem too bothered.
On Sunday (May 8), Musk posted on Twitter one note that Mr. Rogozin, head of Russia’s federal space agency said Roscosmos, was sent to the Russian media. Note that equipment for SpaceX’s Starlink the satellite-internet system was transferred by the US military to Ukrainian marines and “fighters of the Nazi Azov battalion”.
“Elon Muskthus engaged in the supply of military communications equipment to fascist forces in Ukraine,” wrote Rogozin, according to the English translation Musk posted. take responsibility like an adult – whether you will play the fool.”
Related: Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service is up and running in Ukraine with more terminals being rolled out
Live updates: Impacts of the invasion of Ukraine on space exploration
This sounds a lot like a threat, as Musk acknowledged in a follow-up tweet on Sunday.
“If I die under mysterious circumstances, that’s great you know,” he wrote.
Musk’s mother, Maye, didn’t appreciate that sparkly reaction, tweet, “That’s not funny” along with two angry face emojis. Billionaire businessman answered, “Sorry! I’ll do my best to survive.” (It’s Mother’s Day anyway.)
It doesn’t seem like Musk is overly concerned about his safety, which is not surprising given that Rogozin is prone to blushing and exaggeration. For example, the head of Roscosmos has repeatedly suggested that Russia could leave the International Space Station (ISS) program if the sanctions imposed after the invasion were not lifted, but it continued. much less. business as usual on the orbital laboratory.
And Musk and Rogozin used to trade with each other. For example, in 2014, Rogozin commented that the US should use a trampoline to get its astronauts to the ISS – alluding to the fact that the country was, at the time, completely dependent into Russian. Soyuz spacecraft for crewed orbital missions. (Rogozin, Russia’s deputy prime minister at the time, was furious about the sanctions imposed shortly after the country invaded and annexed Crimea, once Ukrainian territory.)
In May 2020, SpaceX ended that dependency when it launched two NASA astronauts to the ISS on the landmark Demo-2 mission. Shortly after that takeoff, Musk gave Rogozin six years in the making: “The trampoline is working!”
SpaceX, Musk and the US Agency for International Development have been public about sending Starlink terminals to Ukraine, to help the country maintain some of its communications infrastructure during the ongoing invasion. of Russia. Ukrainian officials request such equipment at the end of Februaryright after the invasion began.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out there“(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow them on Twitter @Spacedotcom or above Facebook.
https://www.livescience.com/russian-space-chief-rogozin-threatens-elon-musk Elon Musk apparently threatened by Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin
