“He never wanted this job," the former NASA source said of Rogozin. "He was essentially demoted, and he has spent his time at Roscosmos trying to get back into Putin’s good graces. And so it has just been an extraordinarily different kind of leadership than we’ve seen before, to the detriment of everyone."
For reasons not entirely clear, Putin removed Rogozin from the prestigious position of deputy prime minister for Russia's defense and space industry in May 2018. Rogozin was subsequently tasked with overseeing Roscosmos, which focuses mostly on civil spaceflight. Instead of bringing a space background or industrial expertise to Roscosmos, Rogozin brought his own brand of Russian nationalist politics.
"Going back to the Cold War, there was an unwritten rule where Roscosmos and NASA would not criticize one another," the Western source said. "No matter how bad things got on Earth, the two space agencies would never share an ill word. Rather, they would continue to work together and let the politicians do the fighting. Well, that changed dramatically with Rogozin."
In his time at Roscosmos, Rogozin has taken frequent potshots at the West, and at NASA and its contractors, such as SpaceX (not to mention
accusing journalists of war crimes). However, the fundamental relationship between Roscosmos and NASA has not changed. On the level of astronauts and cosmonauts, engineers, and managers, cordial relations continue.
And that's understandable. "In terms of overall cooperation on the ISS, the rank and file at Roscosmos, even the leadership of Roscosmos, desperately wants and needs this activity to continue," the source said. "Because if they drop out of the ISS they lose their space program. We are literally talking about the death of the Russian civil space program."