The family of an American astronaut have said they were reduced to tears after fears Russia would leave him stranded in space.
Nasa’s Mark Vande Hei is due to return to earth aboard a Russian spacecraft The International Space Station (ISS) on March 30.
In an emotional interview, Mr Vande Hei’s mother Mary told the Mail on Sunday she was reduced to tears following the outburst about the ISS from Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The 77-year-old said: “It’s a terrible threat. When I first heard it I did a lot of crying. It’s very troubling. We are just doing a lot of praying.”
Mrs Vande Hei, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, added: “It is really a shame that it’s been politicised like this. It’s quite a shock. His wife, Julie, is very worried in Texas. It’s very hard for her right now.”
Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, hit out at the sanctions put in place by President Joe Biden and suggested Mr Vande Hei could get stuck in space.
Rogozin said: “Do you want to destroy our co-operation on the ISS? If you block co-operation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled de-orbit and fall into the United States or Europe?”
He repeated it in an exchange with retired US astronaut Scott Kelly where he wrote in a now-deleted tweet: “Get off, you moron! Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be on your conscience.”
But the astronaut’s father Mr Vande Hei, 80, a retired information systems executive, said: “Our son does not scare easily.”
He added: “These threats are just one person speaking and, though it’s the head of the Russian space agency, all the other people within the space agency seem very co-operative.”
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has offered to send a rocket to rescue the US astronaut if the Russians leave him stranded.
Nasa said it remains confident Mr Vande Hei will return as expected.
“The International Space Station team is continuing to safely conduct research operations in low-Earth orbit,” a spokesperson said.
“Ongoing station operations continue including work to fly crew to the orbital outpost and to return them safely to Earth.”
