Russian space agency leader’s invite to city has been rescinded

The leader of Russia’s space program is no longer invited to visit Houston for a public forum with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, officials confirmed Saturday.

“We had heard from numerous senators suggesting that this was not a good idea and I wanted to be accommodating to the interest of the senators,” Bridenstine told the Washington Post late Friday.

But NASA’s leader assured the public the space agency would continue to work cooperatively with Russia in space. The U.S. has relied on the Russians to ferry its astronauts to and from the International Space Station since 2011 when the Space Shuttle program was shuttered.

The rescinded invitation was announced just days after criticism of Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin’s visit grew from a quiet whisper to a steady roar. Rogozin, who previously served as Russia’s deputy prime minister, was banned from entering the United States after Moscow seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Discussions of a visit to Houston — home of NASA’s Johnson Space Center where the nation’s astronauts live and train — began in October, when the space agency confirmed Bridenstine had proposed partaking in a public forum with the Russian politician.

Despite Rogozin’s months-old invitation, calls to rescind it reached a crescendo Wednesday after Politico published a Jan. 1 story about Rogozin’s potential visit.

The Chronicle first reported on the invitation in October, the day it was officially confirmed by NASA.

Earlier Friday, NASA spokeswoman Megan Powers said the meeting set for February was postponed. It now has officially been revoked.

It was rumored that the meeting would take place at Rice University, Bridenstine’s alma mater. But Rice officials said Wednesday they had no plans to bring Rogozin onto campus.

The timing of Bridenstine’s discussions with Rogozin seemed apt. Two Russian mishaps related to the International Space Station had just occurred — a problem felt so acutely by the U.S. because NASA’s astronauts have relied on the Russians to ferry them to and from the space station since the Space Shuttle program was shuttered in 2011.

First, astronauts aboard the space station discovered an air leak-causing hole in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft attached to the space station in August. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory at the time, including NASA’s Serena Auñón-Chancellor, were able to quickly patch the hole and there was no danger to the crew. Russia is investigating the cause of the leak, though officials have said it was caused by an errant drill.

Then in October, a different Soyuz carrying American astronaut Nick Hague to the orbiting laboratory was forced to abort its launch because of a rocket booster failure — the first time such an event had occurred in 35 years. Hague and his crewmate were safe and in good condition. They will get a second chance to live on the space station in April.

“We will continue our strong working relationship with Russia as it relates to the International Space Station and sending our astronauts into space,” Bridenstine told the Post.