NASA's Catch-22: Russia may move astronaut training to Crimea

12.09.2014
Russia is reportedly planning to move survival training for all Soyuz passengers to a Russian naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea, an area the Russian military grabbed from Ukraine earlier this year.

That will put NASA in a predicament, since the U.S. condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine but needs the Russian Federal Space Agency to transport U.S. astronauts back and forth to the International Space Station on Soyuz spacecraft.

The Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported earlier this week that Russia's space agency also plans to return to using what was once a post-flight rehabilitation center in an area of Ukraine.

"Sevastopol may soon become a space training center again," a Roscosmos press service official told ITAR-TASS. "Cosmonauts' training sessions will, possibly, resume in the water area of the main base of the Black Sea Fleet."

The U.S., as well as the European Union, have been at odds with Russia since the country moved to aggressively annex Crimea in March. The U.S. contends that Russia has since moved to destabilize Ukraine by sending in arms and troops.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions against Russia, including targeting one of the country's largest banks, as well as Rostec, a major Russian conglomerate.

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