As rumors swirl about his future, Russia’s space chief darkens his rhetoric

Enlarge / Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin really knows how to fill out a hard hat. (credit: Yegor Aleyev / TASS via Getty Images)

Rumors on Russian social media networks and in select publications are swirling that the bombastic director general of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, will soon lose his position.

The Interfax news agency reports that Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov, who oversees the Russian space and defense industry, may be moved into the leadership of Roscosmos. Separately, Telegram channels have been citing other media making similar claims about Borisov and Rogozin.

To be clear, these remain rumors. And this is not the first time that speculation has intensified about the future of Rogozin, who took over command of Roscosmos—a sprawling, state-owned corporation responsible for the vast majority of Russia's spaceflight activities—four years ago. His has been a troubled and controversial tenure which, in addition to heated and destructive rhetoric, has seen the reliability and launch rate of Russian space vehicles decline.