An Aug. 3 report by RT underlines the importance of the visit of Roscosmos director Dmitry Bakanov to the U.S. over July 29-31. Both sides, of course, agreed to continue work in the International Space Station. Russia, however, which had previously said it would leave the station in 2028 to concentrate on its own space station, with the U.S. remaining on the ISS until 2032, is now inclined, as Russia’s presidential envoy on space cooperation Sergei Krikalev indicated, to continue the ISS collaboration until 2030.
RT also underlined the role of Krikalev in the delegation. Krikalev, in his sixties, is the most senior Russian cosmonaut, who has been working at the top level in Roscosmos since he ceased working as an active cosmonaut. He spent seven missions, probably more time in space than most cosmonauts, and was the last Soviet cosmonaut serving on the MIR space station in 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. RT points out that his “hinting” to a possible Russian agreement on the ISS is more important than Bakanov’s statements, who would have to wait until the government formally makes that decision before confirming it.
