NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei after his return to Earth on March 30. Image: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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The video was promoted by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, which described it as a joke. Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos known for his prolific shitposting, also shared the video, prompting widespread backlash. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who previously held the record for longest spaceflight by an American, called the video “an unthinkable violation of the trust built between our two countries in space over decades” in the Washington Post. The clip, among other troll posts over the past month, sparked a heated Twitter feud between Kelly, NASA astronaut Garrett Reisman, and Rogozin. In response to Rogozin’s various threats to maroon Vande Hei, abandon Russia’s role on the ISS, and even crash the ISS into the United States, Kelly and Reisman hurled insults at the Roscosmos head, who ultimately blocked them.
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