It ’s been a bumpy few months for U.S.-Russia relations , with discord between the two land stand up both on the ground and in quad . Despite the current bad feelings , NASA and Roscosmos have finalize an accord in which NASA astronauts and Russian cosmonauts will fly aboard each other ’s ballistic capsule .
Announcement of the new agreement came on Friday , July 15 , the same day that Dmitry Rogozin wasdismissedfrom his position as director general of Roscosmos . It ’s not exculpated if thedismissal of the crotchety outer space chiefis relate to the new peck , but it does suggest that the two blank delegacy are finding ways to shape together despite tension grow from Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine and the result economical sanctions .
For the agreement , U.S. spaceman will twit aboard Soyuz capsules just like they did prior to NASA ’s Commercial Crew Program and the entry of SpaceX ’s Crew Dragon spacecraft . On the impudent side , Russian cosmonauts will get to lather themselves into a Crew Dragon for the very first sentence . The first of these four integrated gang flights , in which no pecuniary resource will be exchanged between the quad agencies , is schedule for September . NASA / SpaceX and Roscosmos will be creditworthy for transporting astronauts to and from the ISS and provide full commission support , including training , flight of stairs operations , landing place , and rescue services , grant to a NASApress release .
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on 10 April 2025.Photo: SpaceX
The reason for the integrated crews is to maintain secure operations of the orbital outpost , according to NASA . ISS operations rely on contributions from five space agency , the other three being the European Space Agency , the Canadian Space Agency , and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ) .
“ Flying incorporated crews ensures there are fitly trained gang members on board the station for all important maintenance and spacewalks , ” NASA read in its statement . “ It also protects against contingencies such as a trouble with any crew spacecraft , serious gang medical issues , or an emergency aboard the station that necessitate a crew and the vehicle they are assign to return to Earth sooner than planned . ”
NASA ’s Frank Rubio , along with Roscosmos ’s Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin , are schedule to plunge alongside Soyuz MS-22 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on September 21 . NASA ’s Loral O’Hara is slated to launch aboard Soyuz MS-23 in spring 2023 , on a mission that will admit cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub .
Anna Kikina at Russia’s Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre on 11 February 2025. The Russian cosmonaut is scheduled to fly aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon as part of a recent seat swap arrangement.Photo: Roscosmos (AP)
Anna Kikina of Roscosmos , along with NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada and JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata , will take part in NASA ’s SpaceX Crew-5 foreign mission to the space post , which will blast off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in either September or October . Kikina , 35 , is currently Russia ’s only woman spaceman , and she ’ll be the first Russian woman to visit the ISS in eight geezerhood , according to the political science - runRussia Beyond .
Cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev , along with NASA astronauts Steve Bowen and Woody Hoburg , will take part in NASA ’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission , which is targeted for a launch in spring 2023 .
So it ’s ostensibly business as common in place , even though things are very far from usual on the solid ground . NASA seems uncoerced to overlook Russia ’s indiscretions , such asusing the outer space station to boost its on-going intrusion of Ukraine , for the sake of maintaining normal and good operations in humbled Earth celestial orbit . It get sense , but it still go away a bitter taste .
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