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MOSCOW, December 28 Roscosmos and NASA have extended the cross-flight program to the ISS, the press service of the Russian state corporation reported.
“”In 2023, in order to maintain the reliable operation of the ISS as a whole and to ensure the presence in the Russian segment of at least one representative of Roscosmos and the presence in the American segment of at least one NASA representative, an agreement was reached with American partners to continue cross-flights until 2025 inclusive.” , says the release.
In July and December 2023, Moscow and Washington signed two additions to the agreement between Roscosmos and NASA on flights of integrated crews on Russian and American manned spacecraft.
Roscosmos also recalled that in April 2023, the general director of the state corporation, Yuri Borisov, informed the heads of the space agencies of the ISS partner countries about the extension of Russia’s participation in the project until 2028 inclusive.
Initially, the agreement on cross-flights provided for three flights each of Russian and American ships, then it was expanded to one mission. It assumes that the crew of each Russian spacecraft sends one American astronaut to the ISS, and the crew of each American spacecraft includes one Russian cosmonaut. This is necessary so that in the event of unforeseen changes in the flight program, neither the Russian nor the American segments of the station are left empty.
The first such ship was Soyuz MS-22, which flew on September 21, 2022 with American astronaut Frank Rubio is in the crew. A couple of weeks later, Russian Anna Kikina went to the ISS on the American Crew Dragon. In March 2023, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev arrived at the ISS on Crew Dragon (Crew-6 mission), and was replaced by Konstantin Borisov (in the crew of the Crew-7 mission). In the first half of 2024, flights of the Soyuz MS-25 and another Crew Dragon will take place.
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