A candidate for the post of head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) office in Russia was denied a diplomatic visa. The name of the American was not disclosed. About it RIA News said three sources in the rocket and space industry.
The decision was made in response to a similar move by the United States towards a number of Russian diplomats. The same situation occurred with the appointment of the current head of NASA’s Moscow office, Trisha Mack. “After being appointed to Moscow, she spent a year and a half in Houston and flew only for starts and landings in Kazakhstan, because during this period she did not receive a visa,” one of the interlocutors recalled.
According to another, NASA plans to reduce the headcount in the Moscow office. So, if the current head of the office returns to the United States, and the new one does not arrive, there will be no need to maintain the apparatus, he noted.
Earlier it was reported that NASA is allowing the reduction of its offices in Russia. This is due to a decrease in the level of cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS). It was noted that, first of all, the staff working in the Star City at the Cosmonaut Training Center will be laid off, which is associated with the termination of regular flights of NASA astronauts on Russian rockets and Soyuz spacecraft.
In late December, the Russian Embassy in Washington accused the United States of starting a visa war and imposing on Russia the practice of personal visa exchanges, when employees of Russian foreign missions receive entry permits only in conjunction with issuing visas for American workers.
