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Astronauts

Will American Astronauts Train in Occupied Crimea?

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
September 10, 2014
Filed under , , ,

Crimea Catch-22: Russia Space Training May Put NASA in a Bind, NBC
“Here’s the kicker: Shifting the survival training to Russian-occupied Crimea will require foreign cosmonauts to accept travel there without Ukrainian visas, an explicit acquiescence to the new diplomatic status of the province. Refusal to attend survival training is equivalent to failing the training, which by existing training regulations is an automatic disqualification for flight certification. No Crimea trip, no space trip. Lonchakov hinted that Crimea might be used for more than sea survival training. “We are also planning, if it works out, to hold sea and mountain survival training,” he told the Itar-Tass news agency. He has also said a post-flight rehabilitation center for cosmonauts could be reopened near Yevpatoria, a Crimean coastal resort.”
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5 responses to “Will American Astronauts Train in Occupied Crimea?”

  1. SJG_2010 says:
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    Fuuny – when this takeover of crimea & Ukraine started I looked at a Map and said. Hmmmm with Kazakstan kicking the russians out Crimea would make a good spot for a new launch site….

    • Jim Oberg says:
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      Stuart, that’s why the race to open a site in the far east, Vostochniy. And they already have Soyuz launch capability at Kourou now, with the built-in upgrade capability to add manned launches there.

    • Gerald R Everett says:
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      Don’t know but it looks like the launches out of Kazakstan are over hundreds of miles of pretty much nothing while any launches out of Crimea would be over more densely populated territory.

  2. hikingmike says:
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    Just out of curiosity, I know it would be very distasteful, but would it be possible for them to get Ukrainian visas and go there still recognizing Crimea as part of Ukraine? The naval base was leased by Russia. The article says it would require them to go without Ukrainian visas. It seems odd to require someone to not have a visa.

    Unfortunately, if there isn’t an alternative I’m not seeing, I think I would prefer the President get ahead of this and forbid training in Crimea.

    • Anonymous says:
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      I see this is part of Russia’s political response to the political and financial pressure they are under as the result of their recent military/political maneuvers.

      I agree the President needs to shoot down the idea that US astronauts will be training in Crimea or recuperating there after landings. Europe (at least Italy since they have an astronaut slated to go up two missions from now) needs to do the same.