Russian space chief says he would NOT hire Elon Musk

There’s no career opportunity for Elon Musk with Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, its head Dmitry Rogozin said, adding however, that he would gladly meet the SpaceX boss if he ever comes to visit.

Roscosmos would not hire Musk to get help with reusable rocketry, Rogozin said on Saturday, while answering questions from reporters. The Russian space agency prefers to foster domestic specialists, Rogozin explained.

Not that the head honcho of SpaceX was looking for a job, but at least now he knows he should be looking elsewhere if the need arises.

At the same time, Rogozin, who at times engages in indirect Twitter duels with Musk over rockets and the space industry, said he would gladly meet the entrepreneur if he ever comes to Russia for a private visit. The space chief has no plans to invite Musk, however.

“He's a busy man, I'm a busy man, why should I invite him?” Rogozin said.

While Rogozin has never met Musk, he’s been frequently spotted publicly reacting to his tweets and slamming SpaceX over “killing competitors.” It’s not always that prickly, however. In March, Rogozin congratulated Musk with the completion of the very first flight of the new reusable SpaceX ship – the Crew Dragon. Musk took to Twitter to respond, stating that “we have always admired your rocket/spacecraft technology.” Rogozin then shot back, seemingly taunting Musk's praise of Russian rocketry by stating it was “hard to argue” with him.

Later, however, it emerged that Roscosmos complained to NASA, alleging that the Crew Dragon brought a mysterious alcohol odor aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The embarrassing revelation was made after the spacecraft itself was destroyed in a powerful blast during ground tests, bringing more uncertainty to the future of the SpaceX program and American manned flights.

READ MORE: Crewed flight setback? Leaked video suggests SpaceX capsule is ANNIHILATED in safety test ‘anomaly’

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