July was a tough month for the Russian space program. First came the arrest of scientist Viktor Kudryavtsev for allegedly leaking information on the development of hypersonic missiles to a member of NATO. Shortly thereafter, a second scientist was arrested on similar charges of leaking technology information, this time allegedly to Vietnam. (That may just be the start; the Federal Security Service, or FSB, is reportedly investigating a dozen more people in Kudryavtsev’s office.) And on July 26, Russia’s space agency, Roskosmos, announced the cancellation of the 2022 test launch of the new Federation passenger module.
But the troubles of Russia’s space efforts go much farther back. For example, wrote Russian news outlet Lenta.ru, “The damage from [the alleged leaking] is unlikely to be stronger than the transfer to China of the technology of manned space exploration.”
