Space: Russia finally wants to continue its relations with its partners
Russian participation in the ISS could continue until 2028 or even longer, depending on the state of the station.
© NASA/Roscosmos
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Contrary to the announcement made at the end of July, Russia seems to be reviewing its plans for its participation in the International Space Station.
After declaring to leave the project in 2024, Roscosmos, the Russian agency, now suggests that it could well extend the lease and that it wishes to improve its relations with its partners, NASA in the first place.
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Undermined by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, international space cooperation remains alive.
Two missions bear witness to this: on September 21, astronaut Frank Rubio flew to the ISS in the company of two cosmonauts with a Soyuz from Baikonur.
On October 5, this time it was the Russian Anna Kikina who took off from Florida.
Three months earlier, these two missions did not seem to go without saying.
Dmitry Rogozin
, then director of Roscosmos and close to Vladimir Putin, multiplied the controversial declarations, even going so far as to threaten to leave on board the ISS an American astronaut who had yet to return to Soyuz.
Relations
between the Russian agency and NASA
had never been so bad.
Until 2028 and maybe beyond
Since then, Dmitri Rogozin has been replaced and the team at the head of Roscosmos is trying to calm things down;
confirmation during the press conference following Anna Kikina's take-off: the deputy director reaffirms his agency's commitment to its partnership with NASA.
Another example, Russian participation in the ISS was to end after 2024, Roscosmos said this summer.
Change of discourse this week, with the publication of a press release in which Roscosmos no longer excludes continuing until 2028, or even longer, depending on the state of the station.
► To read also:
Space: a Russian astronaut in the next SpaceX rocket to the ISS
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