Roscosmos chief says he, acting NASA head agree to continue using ISS until 2028
CAPE CANAVERAL /State of Florida/, July 31. /TASS/. Russian State Space Corporation Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov has said that he and Acting NASA Director Sean Duffy agreed to continue using the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028.
"The conversation went quite well. We agreed to continue using the ISS until 2028. It’s important that the new NASA chief confirmed this. We will work on the deorbiting process until 2030," Bakanov told reporters following a meeting with Duffy.
"Direct contact with the heads of Roscosmos and NASA was vital," he noted. "Sean Duffy helped us get the opportunity to come here for the joint launch of our mission, in which cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will head to the International Space Station with American astronauts," the Roscosmos chief pointed out.
On July 28, Bakanov reported that Roscosmos and NASA had reached a consensus that the ISS should operate until at least 2028, though it will likely remain in demand until 2030.
The ISS has been in orbit since November 20, 1998. The station weighs approximately 435 tons, and with docked spacecraft, it can reach 470 tons. Participants in this project include Russia, Canada, the United States, Japan, and the European Space Agency (ESA), which comprises Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Sweden, and Switzerland.
