NASA astronauts would once again launch on Russian rockets, while SpaceX would begin sending Russian cosmonauts to the ISS.
NASA will Fly Russian Rockets while SpaceX Sees to Launch Cosmonauts
A deal revealed on Friday (July 15) states that NASA astronauts would launch on Russian rockets again, while SpaceX will start launching Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station this fall.
The news came just hours after the blustery chief of the Russian space agency, Dmitry Rogozin, was replaced by President Vladimir Putin. Regardless, the motion did not connect to the crew swap, and Rogozin was expected to be given a new post.
According to NASA and Russian officials, the agreement guarantees that there will always be at least one American and one Russian on board the orbiting outpost to maintain both sides of the outpost operating well.
In September, two Russians and American astronaut Frank Rubio will launch from Kazakhstan towards the space station. On a SpaceX rocket departing from Florida in the same month, Anna Kikina, a Russian cosmonaut, will go with two Americans and one Japanese. Next spring, there will be another personnel change.
According to NASA, no money will be exchanged as part of the deal.
The long-planned transfer was completed despite hostilities over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, showing that Russia and the United States continue to cooperate together in space.
NASA also said the agreement would "ensure continued safe operations" of the space station and protect those living on board. Seven people are there: three Americans, one Italian who flew up with SpaceX, and three Russians who arrived in a Soyuz.
Cosmonauts on the ISS Waved an Insurgent Ukrainian District's Flag
According to a July 6 Space.com report, Roscosmos uploaded two photos of its cosmonauts waving the flags of two rebel districts in eastern Ukraine that Russia supports.
Roscosmos' Telegram account broadcast ISS propaganda on July 4. Images show the tricolor flags of Luhansk and Donetsk as cosmonauts smile.
The two photographs show that Roscosmos is still using the ISS to distribute pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian propaganda. According to a Roscosmos post on Telegram, occupied Luhansk areas have waited eight years for this day. They think July 3 will be remembered forever.
Roscosmos and NASA Continue to Fight Over ISS
Last week, Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, said that whatever work Roscosmos "considers vital and worthwhile" would be performed on its share of the ISS.
Russian astronauts seemed to be utilizing flags in anti-Ukraine propaganda while posing for photos, which sparked the most recent episode in a dispute between the two space organizations.
NASA has blasted the photographs, claiming that the space station is intended to be politically neutral. The US space agency's declaration was uncommon and went against its practice of essentially attempting to prevent any political influence on the floating lab, despite tensions on the ground.
It also condemns Russia's use of the ISS to assist its conflict against Ukraine, a spokeswoman said. The station's principal objective is to enhance research and technology for peaceful purposes among the 15 cooperating countries.
Mr. Rogozin said Roscosmos would do whatever was necessary and good in Russia. Rogozin urged Western allies to eliminate misguided sanctions.
