Krikalev said integrated flights are another stage in US-Russia space cooperation. A proposal for such integrated flights was made by the American side, and Russia supported it, he added.
"Because it made technical sense to make these wonderful flights, because it really increases the reliability of the system, it increases resistance," he said. "If there is any problem with a launch of the ship, with the insurance of the ship, our partner's segment will not be left without a specialist in this segment."
Krikalev went on to note that this is not the only area where Russia and the United States work in this way.
"In the American control center there are our specialists, in our control center, there are American specialists. And this group is just designed to support their Mission Control Center (MCC). If you remember many years ago, just when I was flying at Expedition 11, Houston was hit by Hurricane Katrina, and the entire staff of the MCC was evacuated, and the support group of American specialists that was in the Moscow MCC took over the duties of managing the American segment," he said.
That is, he, added, they secured themselves both at the level of ground services, and at the level of specialists who are engaged in training and at the level of astronauts.
"Now we are also making such cross-connections that allow us to increase the stability of the system," he said.
Roscosmos and NASA Remain Diplomatic
Roscosmos Head Yuri Borisov and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson have had a phone conversation during which they extended an invitation to each other, Roscosmos Human Space Flight Programs Executive Director Sergei Krikalev told reporters.
A meeting between NASA the two is being worked on and may take place by the end of the year, Human Space Flight Programs Executive Director Sergei Krikalev told reporters.
"A meeting between Nelson and Borisov is being worked out," Krikalev said. "There is a desire on both sides, but a meeting should not be held just to shake hands, it should include discussions. As a rule, this is accompanied by some kind of professional discussions. And now they will be looking at a convenient and more expedient occasion to meet in the most convenient place, so that it would be convenient for everyone."
Krikalev said the meeting could be held before the end of the year and any place could be considered.
"But depending on the political situation, it may be more rational to have a meeting on a neutral territory," he said. "But again, the discussion will show, our international departments and NASA departments will probably find some kind of mutually acceptable solution."
Integrated Flights Have Brought Astronauts and Nations Together
US astronaut Nick Hague told Sputnik that he would definitely want to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the integrated crew program.
"Absolutely. Like I mentioned before, one of the special aspects of flying in space is getting to do that with people from all over the globe," Hague stated.
Hague spoke on the eve of NASA’s launch of the SpaceX Crew-5 mission with US and Japanese astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut to the International Space Station (ISS). When asked whether he would like and thinks he will have a chance to fly onboard the commercial vehicle, Hague said, "I'm part of the current astronaut corps. I'm assignable."
"So I do have aspirations of flying again," he shared. "I'd like to say that any spaceflight would be an amazing spaceflight, whether that's on a Dragon or Starliner, or Soyuz, I wouldn't turn any of them down. I have heard that the ride on the SpaceX is pretty miraculous. So I'd be game for sure."
Hague said currently he works back in the astronaut office and one of his principal tasks is working on the Boeing Starliner. "So we're gonna launch a SpaceX Dragon tomorrow. And soon next year, we're going to launch a Boeing Starliner and that'll give us another commercial provider to continue to make access to space more robust. So that's what I've been working on," he said.
In July, Roscosmos and NASA signed an agreement on integrated flights of cosmonauts and astronauts to the ISS. As part of the agreement, the Soyuz-2.1a rocket with a Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft was launched from Baikonur to the ISS on September 21 carrying another crew including Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin as well as NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio.
The only female cosmonaut at Roscosmos, Anna Kikina, will fly to the ISS on the US-made Crew Dragon spacecraft on Wednesday. In 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded US astronaut Nick Hague with the Order of Courage for the bravery that he showed during the aborted launch of Russia's Soyuz-FG rocket in October 2018.
On October 11, 2018, the Soyuz-FG booster failed to launch the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft, which was supposed to bring Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission was aborted due to booster malfunction minutes after liftoff.
The two-man crew escaped in a rescue capsule and returned to the ground unharmed. As Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos and NASA agreed to organize a new flight promptly, Hague and Ovchinin arrived at the ISS on March 15, together with NASA astronaut Christina Koch. On October 3, Hague and Ovchinin returned to Earth aboard a Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft, together with the first UAE astronaut, Hazzaa Al Mansoori.