There have been a lot of people protesting the war in Russia, and in a time where such protest can you locked up–facing a lot of punishment–that’s a brave thing to do. They’ve been protesting since the first day of the invasion.
But perhaps it’s even more dangerous an effort to protest when you have a very high-profile position. It’s hard to think of people with a “higher” position than cosmonauts being sent into space, to the International Space Station.
On Saturday, the Station was visited by three Russian astronauts. This is the first Russian team to go into space since Russia’s war with Ukraine. But when video and pictures of their arrival were shown, they were wearing yellow flight suits with blue on them — the colors of Ukraine.
Russian cosmonauts OlegArtev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov entered the International Space Station for their six-and half-month expedition.
Their arrival temporarily raises the station’s crew complement to 10.https://t.co/GAptC5htE9 pic.twitter.com/wBJpOQAaf5
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) March 18, 2022
We are so happy to have received such a warm reception from our new crew aboard the ISS. #SoyuzMS21They are so stylish!💛💙 pic.twitter.com/BB9ss1Ittn
— Katya Pavlushchenko (@katlinegrey) March 18, 2022
The Times
Oleg Artemyev and Denis Matveev joined Sergey Korsakov, Sergey Korsakov, and four Americans aboard the orbiting laboratory for six months.
The three new astronauts arrived at the station in extraordinary jumpsuits made of bright yellow with blue stripes. [….]
The colour scheme and its dramatic divergence from usual dress codes drew gasps from Nasa officials and members of Nasa’s astronaut corps. “Wow. Just wow,” said Terry Virts, a former US commander of the ISS.
The suits were a topic that was brought up by Artemyev. Artemyev said that the crew gets to pick its style of flight suit, “It became our turn to pick a color. But in fact, we had accumulated a lot of yellow material so we needed to use it,” he joked. “So that’s why we had to wear yellow.”
The men were in blue suits as they walked up the stairs and then switched to the outfits for the cameras at the airport. Do you think it was a protest? If there was another reason, it’s being interpreted as a protest of the Russian action. So, add that to one more thing that Vladimir Putin isn’t going to like when he hears about it. An earlier report said that the Defense Ministry Twitter account got mocked after posting a video showing a Russian helicopter making a forced landing after it was shot.
On March 30, the two Russians on board the International Space Station, along with one American, Mark Vande Hei will return to Earth. Dimitry Rodzini suggested that Vande Hei might be left behind. NASA stated however that they had been assured his safety and would make alternate plans to bring him home.
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