Ex-NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly Tells Roscosmos Head Dmitry Rogozin to Find McDonald's Job in Twitter Fight

Former astronaut Scott Kelly engaged in a Twitter feud with Dmitry Rogozin, director-general of Russia's space agency Roscosmos, asking Rogozin to seek a job at McDonald's as Western countries sanctioned Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Rogozin appears to have started the conversation when he tweeted a video of workers at the Baikonur cosmodrome covering up Russian flag decals on a rocket carrying OneWeb satellites in reaction to Western sanctions.

Kelly characterized it as "the first Twitter argument I've ever had" in an interview with CNN.

Ex-NASA Astronaut Slams Roscosmos Head in Series of Tweets

Kelly, who famously spent a year in orbit onboard the station, has been blocked by Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin on Twitter after criticizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Rogozin's repeated threats to leave the International Space Station.

(Note: Google provided the translation; unless otherwise stated, the quotes below are also Google translations of Russian-language tweets.)

"The launchers at Baikonur decided that without the flags of some countries, our rocket would look more beautiful," Rogozin wrote in Russian.

Kelly responded to that tweet on Sunday, writing, "Dimon, without those flags and the foreign exchange they bring in, your space program won't be worth a damn. Maybe you can find a job at McDonald's if McDonald's still exists in Russia."

Rogozin fired back with a tweet that read, "Get off, you moron! Otherwise the death of the ISS will be on your conscience!"

Kelly demanded an explanation when the tweet was quickly removed.

"Dimon, why did you delete this tweet? Don't want everyone to see what kind of child you are?" the former astronaut tweeted Monday.

Space.com said Kelly's choice of "Dimon," a common variant of "Dimitry," did not sit well with Rogozin.

Onboard the International Space Station, four NASA astronauts, two Russian cosmonauts, and one European Space Agency astronaut are presently living and working. However, Vande Hei is the sole NASA astronaut in the fictitious Roscosmos video.

Kelly, who spent several years training at Moscow's Star City and is fluent in Russian, praises most Roscosmos staff as "professional, sensible individuals" who "want this partnership to continue."

Russia Space Agency's Concern Amid Sanctions

In reaction to the violence, which has also harmed Russia's space agency, the country has been hit with a slew of sanctions.

Newsweek said Roscosmos announced last week that it would not collaborate with Germany on joint experiments in the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

The Russian space agency also canceled a planned launch of satellites owned by the UK government-affiliated company OneWeb at the last minute.

Roscosmos then announced that it would no longer sell rocket engines to the US.

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft has been the sole way to carry people to and from the space station for over a decade. However, once SpaceX launched its Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2020, the United States recovered human spaceflight capability.

However, there were tentative arrangements for US astronauts to fly on Russian Soyuz rockets and Russian cosmonauts to fly with SpaceX in the future. If those arrangements fall through, it's unclear if SpaceX will have to rearrange its schedule to have enough American astronauts onboard the station.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.