The American space agency NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos have signed an agreement to combine flights to the International Space Station. It will allow sending Russian cosmonauts to the ISS using American spacecraft, while American astronauts will be able to fly on Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
“The agreement is in the interests of Russia and the United States and will contribute to the development of cooperation within the framework of the ISS program,” Roscosmos said in a statement.
Roskosmos adds that the agreement will promote “the exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes.” Although quite recently the Russian crew of the ISS was engaged in the dissemination of anti-Ukrainian propaganda on the ISS . After that, NASA condemned the Russian cosmonauts , and the former ISS commander even proposed withdrawing Russia from the space station partnership . However, despite the growing tension in relations due to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, on a practical plane, NASA plans to continue to cooperate with Russia, including inviting Russian crews to American spacecraft.
NASA makes it official on the crew swap for this September:pic.twitter.com/SeUkEmP0hK
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) July 15, 2022
According to NASA, the first joint flights under the new agreement will take place in September. Then the American astronaut Frank Rubio will go to the space station from the Baikonur Cosmodrome along with two Russian cosmonauts, Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin. In return, cosmonaut Anna Kikina will join two American astronauts and a Japanese astronaut on the SpaceX Crew Dragon flight, which will depart from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Kikina is to become the first Russian woman to fly on the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. She prepared for the mission at NASA Astronaut Headquarters in Houston while the deal was being negotiated.
NASA said having at least one Russian and one American aboard the space station is critical to keeping the lab running. And joint flights “ensure that properly trained crew members are on board the station for the necessary maintenance and spacewalks.”
Shortly before the announcement of the agreement, the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, was fired.
Rogozin “released” from “Roskosmos” ???
Source: reuters
