The head of Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos Dmitry Bakanov and Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy held in-person talks on July 31, the first such talks since 2018. According to a statement released by Roscosmos, they “discussed the future of the International Space Station, cooperation on lunar programs, joint exploration of deep space, and continued cooperation on other space projects.” An invitation to visit Russia was also extended to Duffy.
“We invited him [Duffy] to Moscow for the launch of our next manned flight, which is scheduled for late November or early December. We will be waiting for him in Moscow to advance dialogue,” the Roscosmos chief noted in response to a TASS question.
“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 added.
“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.
