Death of Russian Spaceflight Chief Highlights Russia Space Agency’s Ties to China

The Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft is mounted on the launch pad at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 18, 2019. Dmitry Lovetsky/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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The head of Russia’s human spaceflight program, Yevgeny Mikrin, died recently at the age of 65 after contracting the CCP virus, the national space agency Roscosmos announced on May 5. President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to his family and friends.