US, Russia sign deal to share flights to International Space Station despite Ukraine tensions
- The Nasa-Roscosmos pact will allow Russian cosmonauts to fly on US-made spacecraft in exchange for American astronauts being able to ride on Moscow’s Soyuz
- Earlier, President Putin made former deputy prime minister Yuri Borisov head of Roscosmos to replace Dmitry Rogozin
“The agreement is in the interests of Russia and the United States and will promote the development of cooperation within the framework of the ISS programme,” Roscosmos said in a statement, adding it will facilitate the “exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes”.
The first integrated flights under the new agreement will come in September, Nasa said, with US astronaut Frank Rubio launching to the space station from the Moscow-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan alongside two cosmonauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin.
In exchange, 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 Space Centre in Florida.
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Russian cosmonauts spacewalk outside International Space Station for a 7-hour mission
The Kremlin did not comment on the reasons for the change.
Rogozin had taken a confrontational stance since Roscosmos was hit with sanctions for its role in Russia’s defence industry after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine.
He had threatened to pull out of the ISS, saying cooperation with the West was “impossible”, and pointedly bragged about Russia’s nuclear potential.
In a video posted on its Telegram channel, Roscosmos hailed the progress made at the space agency under Rogozin, who was appointed in 2018.
Those achievements included “a record 86 successful launches in a row, construction of the Russian segment of the ISS … and flight tests for a powerful intercontinental ballistic missile”, Roscosmos said.
Rogozin has touted the capability of the new Sarmat missile to launch a nuclear strike on the United States, and said it would be operational by the autumn following successful tests earlier this year.
Rogozin appeared to revel in trolling the West, including by waging Twitter spats with billionaire Elon Musk, speaking publicly about Russia’s nuclear missile capability and publishing the coordinates and satellite images of Western defence sites with the implication they could be targeted.
There was no official comment on Rogozin’s next appointment, but Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying he would get a new post.
Borisov, 65, who takes over the helm, has a military background, having been involved with the defence industry since the late 1990s.
As deputy premier, he oversaw military and space affairs including the production of weapons and equipment.
