Putin Names Cosmonaut as Envoy for Foreign Space Ties

  • Sergei Krikalev replaces Roscosmos boss as international envoy
  • Agency seeks new space allies after losing foreign customers

Sergei Krikalev 

Photographer: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

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Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev to be his special envoy for international space cooperation as Russia seeks to reform a space industry suffering from US-led sanctions.

Krikalev, 65, will replace Yury Borisov, the head of Russian space corporation Roscosmos, as the envoy. The appointment took effect on Jan. 18, according to a presidential order decree published late Thursday.