Former NASA Official Says Russian Space Head Is Trapped, Trying to Escape

The Russian space chief may have something for his own agency.

He was demoted from being Russia's deputy prime minister to lead the country's space efforts.

An anonymous NASA source told Eric Berger that he never wanted the job. It has been a different kind of leadership that has been detrimental to everyone.

At times experts have been divided on what he is trying to say because of his strange behavior and communication style.

That has been on full display in recent days, with Western media outlets interpreting the latest outburst by Rozozin.

During the height of tensions with the Soviet Union, that type of aggressive discourse in the space research community was unprecedented.

The former NASA official told Ars that the US and NASA would not criticize one another. They would continue to work together and let the politicians do the fighting.

The source said that the Russian space boss was simply spending his time trying to get back into Putin.

On Russian state TV, Rogozin said that a decision about the future of the International Space Station has already been made.

On closer inspection, the strange edicts that are often communicated over the internet can be ambiguous.

A closer reading of his most recent remarks, for instance, suggests that he might be saying that the international partners of Russia will be informed of their eventual plans to leave the station.

It isn't a matter of if Russia will leave the space station, but when. It's not a good idea to read tea leaves from Russian state media because they are likely to be biased and confusing.

There is a lot to lose. The country will no longer have a permanent presence in space at least for years to come. Russia launched and docked a brand new segment to the International Space Station, a module which has been in the works for decades.

The NASA source said that even the leadership of Roscosmos still wants and needs this activity to continue. The death of the Russian civil space program is something we are talking about.

It is nearly impossible to read between the lines to get a clear message. Berger's outlook?

I have learned that the best policy to adopt toward him is to ignore what he says publicly.

The Western space community should put a man on it.

The former Astronaut wasuzzled by NASA.