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Published 08:41 IST, June 10th 2020

Russia Space Agency Head complains about American jokes after SpaceX Crew Dargon launch

Russian Space Agency chief on Tuesday, June 9 lamented that Americans still do not take the Russian space programme as seriously as their own.

Reported by: Manjiri Chitre
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Russian Space Agency chief on Tuesday, June 9 lamented that Americans still do not take the Russian space programme as seriously as their own and complained of American jokes.

Citing the recent SpaceX Crew Dargon launch, Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin while speaking to an international media said that America should show more respect for Russia's space programmes and thank them for having relied on it for nine years to shuttle US astronauts. As per reports, the launch had heavily relied on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

Read: Saturn's moon Titan drifting 100 times faster than previous estimations: NASA

Complaining further, Rogozin said that when their partners had finally managed to conduct a successful test on their spacecraft, America only directed jokes and mockery towards them. He further added that Russia was the first country to send a man into space. 

Meanwhile, the Russian Space Agency also criticised and slammed US President Donald Trump after he had said that the SpaceX launch showed that the US had regained its place as the world leader in space. 

Read: Hollywood designer who made SpaceX-NASA's spacesuits also crafted Thor & Loki's helmets

NASA-SpaceX Mission

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched Crew Dragon’s second demonstration (Demo-2) mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT. The test flight with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board the Dragon spacecraft returned human spaceflight to the United States after nine long years. Crew Dragon is autonomously docked with the International Space Station (ISS), since about 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 31.

United States' National Aeronautics Space Agency (NASA) and SpaceX on May 27 had to call off their Demo-2 mission at the last moment due to bad weather conditions. However, the launch took place later on May 30 with the Crew Dragon successfully launched into the near-Earth orbiter. Demo-2 is SpaceX’s final test flight to validate its crew transportation system, including the Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 rocket, launch pad, and operations capabilities. 

Read: Curious mind gets lucky: Ahmedabad man video chats with SpaceX crew Dragon aboard ISS

Read: Elon Musk not satisfied with ISS; tells SpaceX staff to focus on Starship for Moon & Mars

Updated 08:41 IST, June 10th 2020

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