Roscosmos: U.S. has paid astronauts in rubles to travel on Russian spacecraft

　　Overseas Network, June 11. Dmitry Rogozin, director of the Russian Space Agency, said in an interview with the "Russia 24" news channel on the 11th that the United States has used rubles to pay American astronaut Mark van der Hai to take the Russian "Soyuz". The cost of flying the spacecraft to the International Space Station.

　　Rogozin said Roscosmos had received the full payment, but it was a month later than originally planned.

The payer is Axiom Space, not NASA.

Under pressure from the U.S. Congress, NASA chose Axiom Space Corporation as an intermediary and purchased a seat for an American astronaut on the Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft.

　　In April 2021, Van der Hey and two Russian astronauts flew to the International Space Station on a long-term expedition mission on a Russian "Soyuz" manned spacecraft.

In March 2022, Van der Hey and two Russian astronauts returned to Earth successfully in another "Soyuz" spacecraft.

　　According to RIA Novosti, in response to sanctions against Russia by Western countries, since April 1, Russia has switched to ruble settlement when supplying natural gas to "unfriendly" countries and regions. The Russian government said it would not rule out such settlement. The model is extended to other fields.

Rogozin said in April that Roscosmos would sign international contracts with certain partners to be paid in rubles.

(Zhang Qi from Overseas Network)