Overview
- Roscosmos confirmed Artemyev’s removal from the Crew-12 manifest and said he was transferred to another job.
- The agency assigned Andrey Fedyaev to the seat, a Crew-6 veteran who would become the first Russian to fly twice on Crew Dragon.
- The Insider and a Russian spaceflight channel report Artemyev photographed SpaceX hardware and documentation in Hawthorne in late November, prompting claims of an interdepartmental investigation under export-control rules.
- NASA declined to explain the change, ITAR covers launch vehicles and spacecraft components, and analysts note no public claim of hostile intent with one suggesting possible negligence rather than espionage.
- Crew-12 is targeting a February 2026 launch to the ISS, with ESA’s Sophie Adenot and NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir training for the mission.