Anatoly Perminov congratulated the crew on successful work during the latest docking of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery with the ISS and said the Russian Mission Control center will do everything possible to ensure safety and success of the current and future missions on board the space station.
The current ISS crew comprises station commander Michael Lopez-Alegria, U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams, and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.
Perminov earlier said that the United States will use Russian spacecraft to fly its astronauts to the International Space Station after 2010.
"Until 2010, the U.S. will use its space shuttles [to bring astronauts to the ISS], but after 2010 and until 2015-2020 they [the Americans] will fly to the station on board the Russian spacecraft," he said, adding that Russia will start building its own space shuttles, the Clipper, in 2012.
In 2007, Russia will send two piloted spacecraft and four cargo ships to the ISS, the top space official said.
"We have determined that one place in the Soyuz spacecraft will be always reserved for a Russian cosmonaut, another - for an American astronaut, and the third will be offered to space tourists," Perminov said. "The list of space tourists from various countries has been filled in until 2008."
