--- description: A supposedly leaked internal NASA memo says the agency is cutting many ties with Russia over the country's recent incursion into the Crimea title: Leaked NASA Memo: Agency Giving Russia the Cold Shoulder image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [NASA](/tag/nasa/) ## NASA Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Leaked NASA Memo Says Agency Is Giving Russia the Cold Shoulder  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Apr 2, 2014 9:52 PM CUT  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Apr 2, 2014 9:52 PM CUT The gossip among spaceheads on sites like [The Verge](www.theverge.com/2014/4/2/5574896/nasa-suspends-contracts-with-russia "undefined") and [NasaWatch](http://nasawatch.com/archives/2014/04/nasa-bans-conta.html "undefined") (which is not an official NASA site) is that NASA has suspended all “contacts with Russian Government representatives…unless the activity has been specifically excepted,” in the phrasing of a supposedly leaked memo. The biggest of those exceptions would be anything related to the operation of the International Space Station, in which both countries have skin—literally—in the [form of astronauts](http://time.com/37671/space-cooperation-america-russia/ "undefined"). The alleged memo is unusually frank in its phrasing, blaming the chill on “Russia’s ongoing violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Fox News, Huffington Post, CBS News and others are confirming the report, but AP has said nothing and NASA is so far mum. A NASA representative at the Johnson Space Center emailing with TIME had no knowledge of the supposed memo and seemed amused by it, given that agency officials met with their Russian counterparts just this morning. [NASA Administrator Charles Bolden](blogs.nasa.gov/bolden/2014/03/25/bringing-space-launches-back-to-america/ "undefined") has been making the point that Russia’s unreliability makes it all the more imperative for NASA funding to get a bump so the U.S. can free itself of the need to hitch rides aboard Soyuz spacecraft—at $70 million per seat—just to reach the Space Station. It’s unlike NASA to play cute with leaks, letting this memo slip, say, just to put some heat on Congress for more money and on Moscow for better behavior. Russia does like those steep air fares we pay them and doesn’t need to be reminded of that. The memo—if it exists—may be the result of someone inside NASA overstepping, but a formal statement is still pending as of late Monday afternoon. **Update 8:10 p.m. ET:** NASA indeed suspended some activities with Russian officials. NASA’s full statement: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/47439/nasa-russia-ukraine-crimea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/47439/nasa-russia-ukraine-crimea/"},"headline":"Leaked NASA Memo Says Agency Is Giving Russia the Cold Shoulder","datePublished":"2014-04-02T21:52:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:06:19.661Z","description":"NASA confirms a leaked internal memo that states it suspended the \"majority of its ongoing engagements\" with Russia over the country's recent incursion into Crimea, but says it will keep working together to maintain operation of the International Space Station","url":"https://time.com/47439/nasa-russia-ukraine-crimea/","keywords":["NASA","Ukraine","russia","Space","international space station"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nasa/","name":"NASA"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/47439/nasa-russia-ukraine-crimea/","name":"Leaked NASA Memo Says Agency Is Giving Russia the Cold Shoulder"}}]}] ```