DUBAI (Sputnik) — Roscosmos chief Igor Komarov told Sputnik that Russia's space corporation Roscosmos and its Kazakh colleagues have offered the United Arab Emirates Space Agency use of the Baikonur space center for launch services. Additionally, he proposed that the countries work together to develop ground infrastructure, prepare experts for space travel and establish technology parks.
Earlier it was reported that during the International Congress of Astronautics, representatives of the UAE discussed the possibility of cooperation in the training of cosmonauts with Roscosmos, in order to send them to the ISS aboard Soyuz spacecrafts.
Dear friends!
— Chef Ali (@ChefAli_IraqRus) 12 ноября 2017 г.
From April to October, 2017 I was lucky to work at the first and world's largest cosmodrome BAIKONUR, located in the territory of Kazakhstan! pic.twitter.com/AWibOTGNFh
Currently, the UAE is choosing between the cosmonaut training centers in the US, EU and Russia. "We are discussing this issue with everyone, but would prefer to train future cosmonauts in Russia, since they use Russian spacecraft," director general of the UAE Space Agency said earlier.
Roscosmos considers it possible to send the first astronauts from the United Arab Emirates to the International Space Station in either 2021 or 2022, Igor Komarov added.
Also, he noted that Russia's space corporation is planning to send a three-member crew to the Russian segment of the International Space Station.
“The decrease in crew members was a temporary step. Next year module launches will begin and of course a full crew is needed to prepare the modules for work. So starting from next wear we will transition to a full crew,” Komarov said.
A two-person crew is currently working on the ISS.
