After the US bought a seat in a Russian spacecraft to send a NASA astronaut to the International Space Station, Russian space agency Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin claimed US space flight is still “unstable.”
From 2011 to last year, the US relied on the Russian Soyuz launch system to send their astronauts to the ISS, while America did not have its own capabilities. In May 2020, Crew Dragon, a reusable spacecraft made by Elon Musk’s private company SpaceX, took two Americans into space on an American-made vehicle for the first time in nine years.
However, despite these advances, NASA still appears to need help from Moscow.
Unveiled by Roscosmos on Wednesday, in late 2020, the Americans asked for a spot for astronaut Mark Vande Hei on Soyuz MS-18, who was scheduled to go to the ISS April 9. According to a press release, the request was made very late and interrupted. the Russian flight program, but the company accepted it as a way to “Reaffirm its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of joint use of the International Space Station.”
“The tradition of international crews, which has existed for more than twenty years, will be continued” the statement said.
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Before 2011, there was an agreement between Russia and the US to share seats on each other’s spacecraft. Last year, NASA reported it would negotiate with Roscosmos to bring back this crossover system. However, according to Rogozin, the latter agreement is not a swap-over.
“Flights to the ISS are unstable”, Rogozin wrote on Facebook. They urgently needed to seek insurance and send their man on our ship to make sure their part on the space station is not left unattended. The talk of swapping seats has nothing to do with this at all, “ he clarified, noting that the deal was made with Axiom Space, a NASA contractor and private space company that has plans to eventually sell manned spaceflight experiences to tourists who want to visit the ISS.
“It’s helpful for them, and we don’t care. We invest the proceeds in new developments. “
In 2014, while serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Rogozin famously joked that the US should use a trampoline to send its astronauts to space following sanctions against the Russian space industry. In 2020, after the success of SpaceX, Musk joked: “The trampoline works!”
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Musk wouldn’t have the last laugh, though. Following the US’s latest request for a seat, Rogozin wrote on Facebook: “Apparently the trampoline only works so-so.”
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