Roscosmos chief, NASA deputy head discuss further cooperation on ISS
WASHINGTON, April 16. /TASS/. Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov and NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Operations Ken Bowersox, who met at the Baikonur space center earlier this month, discussed further cooperation on the International Space Station (ISS), NASA spokesman Josh Finch told TASS.
"Bowersox and Bakanov discussed the [Soyuz MS-27] launch to the International Space Station, and the importance of continuing professional cooperation and operations aboard the space station. The two also noted the significance of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz mission, which laid the foundation for the ongoing International Space Station cooperation," he said.
The meeting took place prior to the launch of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky on board.
Bowersox told TASS earlier this month that NASA and Roscosmos were working on a detailed plan for de-orbiting the International Space Station (ISS), although the sides are not certain about when this might take place. In his words, "the United States is committed through 2030 and Russia is committed through 2028."
The ISS has been in orbit since November 20, 1998. The station has a mass of roughly 435 tons. With docked spacecraft, the mass can reach 470 tons. Keeping the project going are Russia, Canada, the United States, Japan and ten member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland).
