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Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has been blocked on Twitter by Russia's space chief Dmitry Rogozin after the two had argued publicly for days.
Kelly, who served as commander of the International Space Station (ISS) on three separate missions, had on Sunday criticized Rogozin for sharing footage of international flags being stripped from a Russian rocket; a sign of deteriorating international relations with Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Kelly had said that Russia's space program, overseen by its Roscosmos space agency, "won't be worth a damn" without international partners.
Димон, без этих флагов и иностранной валюты, которую они приносят, твоя космическая программа выеденного яйца не будет стоить. Может, найдёшь себе работу в Макдональдсе, если Макдональдс ещё существует в России. https://t.co/lZt3kd1LKa
— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) March 6, 2022
Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos, has hit out at international sanctions against Russia in recent days and weeks and blamed the country's increasingly isolated space industry on the actions of other nations.
He has also suggested that the ISS would not be able to remain in orbit around the Earth if Russia pulled its support from the mission.
On Monday morning, Kelly shared a screenshot of what appeared to be a tweet from Rogozin earlier that day in which Rogozin told Kelly: "Get off, you moron! Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be on your conscience." Kelly said that the tweet had since been deleted.
Kelly then enquired as to why Rogozin had deleted the tweet, asking: "Don't want everyone to see what kind of child you are?"
Rogozin then accused Kelly of being provocative, writing: "I will not allow you to behave like that with me."
Mr Scott Kelly! You needlessly provoke me. We are not familiar with you, but you address me on you ("ты") and call me "Dimon", although I do not know such a treatment and I will not allow you to behave like that with me. You are being defiant and destructive. https://t.co/qBb0972W7M
— РОГОЗИН (@Rogozin) March 7, 2022
According to another screenshot posted by Kelly on Monday morning, Rogozin appeared to have blocked Kelly from viewing his tweets.
Despite the ongoing international tensions neither Roscosmos nor NASA have confirmed that the operations of the ISS are due to be changed in the near future, though experts have told Newsweek that NASA could run the ISS solo if necessary.
In recent days, Roscosmos has announced the halt of rocket engine sales to the U.S. and the cancellation of a mission that was set to deliver U.K.-government-linked OneWeb satellites into space after OneWeb declined to meet new demands put forward by Roscosmos.
Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine continues to be internationally condemned. Between the start of the invasion on February 24 and March 6, the civilian death toll in Ukraine was 406, including an estimated 27 children, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on March 7.
However, it is believed that the real figures could be significantly higher.
