President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Tuesday, the 8th of April, welcomed US-Russia space cooperation after a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts flew to the International Space Station (ISS),reports Reuters.
On board the Soyuz MS-27 were Russians Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky, as well as NASA’s Jonathan Kim.
Kirill Dmitriev, who is trying to rebuild US-Russia relations and was in Washington for talks last week, said Tuesday’s rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan was the latest example of a lasting relationship that dates back to 1975.
In 1975, the first international manned space mission was jointly undertaken by the US and the Soviet Union, when the Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft docked in space.
This mission, which saw the first international handshake in space, was a symbol of Cold War détente.
“Russian-US space cooperation continues today,” Dmitriev said on Tuesday, posting a video on his official Telegram channel showing a Soyuz rocket lifting off.
Space cooperation has continued despite the extensive US sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Dmitriev, who spoke in Washington about possible joint Russian and US investments in the Arctic and Russian mineral development, has said that Moscow could provide a small nuclear power plant for the planned mission to Mars by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX chief Elon Musk.
However, as the ISS reaches the end of its life, Russia plans to proceed independently with its own space station, the first two modules of which it plans to launch in 2027. It is also expanding cooperation with China in space exploration.