US astronaut’s return hangs in the balance as tensions with Russia escalate
by Associated Press in Cape Canaveral, Florida from on (#5X3JB)
Mark Vande Hei, who is set to break the US single spaceflight record, will be riding a Russian capsule back to Earth
The US astronaut Mark Vande Hei has made it through nearly a year in space, but now faces what could be his trickiest assignment: riding a Russian capsule back to Earth in the midst of deepening tension between the two countries.
Nasa insists Vande Hei's homecoming at the end of the month remains unchanged, even as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in canceled launches, broken contracts and an escalating war of words from the leader of the Russian Space Agency.
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