Roscosmos Chief Arrives in Houston for First Meeting With NASA Director in 8 Years – Russia and the US to Collaborate in the Deorbiting of Aging International Space Station

The greatest area od US-Russia cooperation is still in outer space.

In the last decade, the bilateral relations between the US and Russia deteriorated greatly, to the point where almost all manner of cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers had ceased.

The one area where it was never discontinued was in space exploration.

But even there, it’s been 8 years since the last time the directors of NASA and Roscosmos had a face-to-face meeting.

But now, with Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House, things are picking up a new momentum, as the Roscosmos chief arrives in Houston, Texas, for a visit and meetings.

Sputnik reported:

“Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Bakanov has arrived in the United States, where he is scheduled to meet with NASA leadership and the crew of the upcoming Crew Dragon mission, which includes Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, the press service of the Russian space agency reported.

‘Dmitry Bakanov arrived in Houston at the head of a Roscosmos delegation to meet with NASA leadership. This marks the first in-person meeting between the heads of the Russian and US space agencies in eight years’, the statement said.”

Besides meeting acting NASA director Sean Duffy, Bakanov will visit Johnson Space Center, and also Boeing’s production facility, where the grounded Starliner spacecraft is being reworked.

Furthermore, he will meet with the Crew Dragon crew, including Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

One of the most important aspects of the Roscosmos cooperation with NASA is the join work to decommission the aging International Space Station (ISS).

According to Bakanov, the deorbiting plan has already been developed, and is expected to take about two and a half years.

TASS reported:

“’A draft program for deorbiting the station has already been developed. According to experts, the process will take about two and a half years in total’, he stated.

[…]’We plan to discuss continuing the cross-flight program and extending the operation of the International Space Station. We will also discuss the activities of the Russian-American working group on safely deorbiting the ISS and flooding it in a designated area of the ocean’.”

Watch: Bakanov tours NASA.

Read more: