In this photo distributed by Roscosmos Space Agency Press Service, the Russian Progress MS-14 cargo spacecraft blasts off from the launch pad at Russia's space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, April 25, 2020. (PHOTO / AP)

MOSCOW - Despite its long-term reliance on Russian spacecraft, the United States does not take the Russian space program seriously, said Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, Russia's space agency.

When our partners finally managed to conduct a successful test on their spacecraft, there were nothing but jokes and mockery directed at us. 

Dmitry Rogozin, Roscosmos head

"When our partners finally managed to conduct a successful test on their spacecraft, there were nothing but jokes and mockery directed at us," Rogozin said in a column in this week's Russian version of Forbes, noting that the American space industry should have thanked Russia instead.

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Last month, the United States launched the first astronauts by itself since 2011, using Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft, developed by Space X, a private space company.

Before that, the United States had always relied on Russian spacecraft to send astronauts into International Space Station, after the retirement of its last space shuttle. 

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