There were a number of key agreements made between NASA and Roscosmos during the July 13-14 visit of NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to the Russian-operated Baikonur launch center in Kazakhstan. One key agreement was the extension of cooperation on the International Space Station until 2030. The U.S. had been mooting the possibility of pulling out of the ISS as early as 2028, leaving the Russians in charge of operations, but have now decided against this. They are also in agreement that there will always be one American and one Russian on the ISS for as long as it continues to operate..
There were, however, several issues that had also been under consideration, according to media accounts. Isaacman had wanted better communication between the two countries’ satellite programs in order to avoid collisions in an ever more crowded Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). While Russia has hundreds of satellites in LEO, the U.S. has thousands. Nevertheless, Roscosmos CEO Dmitri Bakanov thought that this was a reasonable proposal. Russia also sees the possibility of cooperation in the two countries’ lunar exploration, including development of docking mechanisms, establishment of radio communications, and addressing satellite communications and navigation issues for future lunar missions. Another promising area of collaboration involves space medicine and biology, specifically, conducting joint experiments both within existing infrastructure and on future orbital stations. Russia has probably more experience in the area of space medicine than any other space-faring nation.
Regarding this important U.S.-Russia cooperation, Isaacman said, “We will continue to do this as long as possible.” The personal relationship between the two space chiefs, really of the same generation, is also developing well. Bakanov characterized his counterpart as a decent and courageous man, who came to the launch of two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut for the first time in eight years, though there had been numerous launches of cosmonauts and astronauts during that period.
