American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts to travel together to International Space Station under new agreement

America’s NASA and Russian space company Roscosmos have signed a prolonged-sought settlement to integrate flights to the Intercontinental House Station.

This allows Russian cosmonauts to fly on US-produced spacecraft in trade for American astronauts becoming equipped to trip on Russia’s Soyuz, the agencies said on Friday.

“The agreement is in the pursuits of Russia and the United States and will endorse the advancement of cooperation in just the framework of the ISS program,” Roscosmos said in a assertion, introducing it would aid the “exploration of outer place for tranquil needs”.

NASA and Roscosmos, the main partners in the two-10 years-outdated space station, have sought for yrs to renew routine built-in crewed flights as section of the agencies’ long-standing civil alliance, now one particular of the last hyperlinks of cooperation between the United States and Russia as tensions flare more than the war in Ukraine.

The very first built-in flights less than the new agreement will arrive in September, NASA reported, with US astronaut Frank Rubio launching to the space station from the Moscow-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan together with two Russian cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin.

In trade, cosmonaut Anna Kikina will join two US astronauts and a Japanese astronaut on a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the orbital laboratory, launching from NASA’s Kennedy Area Centre in Florida.

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The two companies had earlier shared astronaut seats on the US shuttle and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.

After the shuttle’s retirement in 2011, the US relied on Russia’s Soyuz for sending American astronauts to the place station till 2020, when SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule revived NASA’s human spaceflight ability and started schedule ISS flights from Florida.

Ms Kikina, an engineer and the only lady in Russia’s energetic cosmonaut corps, is set to be the initial Russian to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.

She has been training for the mission at NASA’s astronaut headquarters in Houston though the settlement was less than negotiation.

The US space agency suggests acquiring at least a single Russian and just one American aboard the space station is vital to retaining the laboratory working.

“Traveling integrated crews ensures there are appropriately trained crew customers on board the station for vital upkeep and spacewalks,” NASA mentioned in a assertion on Friday.

Soon right before the settlement was declared, Russian President Vladimir Putin replaced the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, with Yuri Borisov, a previous deputy key minister and deputy defence minister.

Reuters