Beyond Politics

NASA Looks Forward to Hearing From Russia on Readiness to Continue Cooperation - Official

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - NASA expects that Russia's space agency Roscosmos will continue cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030, Space Operations Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Kenneth Bowersox said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Sputnik
"We expect that our Russian partners will work to see what they can do after 2028. They have some technical concerns. They also have some budget concerns," Bowersox told the US House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.
Bowersox explained that the reason Roscosmos has not extended cooperation past 2028 is the way Russia's budget system works.
"We have a really good technical relationship with our Russian partners and we are looking forward to hearing from them that they are ready to stay with us through 2030. That’s very important," he said.
Bowersox confirmed that NASA is working very well with its Russian colleagues on technical issues occurring at the Russian segment of the ISS.
"They are sharing information with us. We are sharing expertise with them with the goal of addressing these issues and trying to make sure that we reduce the chance of things happening in the future," he said.
Beyond Politics
Russia, United States Agree to Extend Cross-Flight Program to ISS Through 2025
Bowersox pointed out that NASA is obtaining valuable data from Roscosmos about the Russian segment of the ISS, specifically about many parts that are older than other segments of the space station.
"We are learning about how spacecraft ages in space. So, we are all getting valuable data there," Bowersox said.
The recent issues at the Progress and Soyuz vehicles have been caused by debris in space and specialists are trying to address them given that solving the problem is important to all countries, Bowersox added.
Discuss