Russia’s space chief has visited the United States to discuss plans for continued cooperation between Moscow and Washington on the International Space Station and lunar research with NASA’s acting chief, the first such face-to-face meeting in more than seven years.
Dmitry Bakanov, the director of the state space corporation Roscosmos, met Thursday with NASA’s new acting administrator, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on a visit to attend the planned launch of a U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew to the space station. The launch was delayed by weather until Friday, when it blasted off successfully.
Roscosmos said Bakanov and Duffy discussed “further work on the International Space Station, cooperation on lunar programs, joint exploration of deep space and continued cooperation on other space projects.”
Once bitter rivals in the space race during the Cold War, Roscosmos and NASA cooperated on the space station and other projects. That relationship was beset with tensions after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, but Washington and Moscow have continued to work together, with U.S. and Russian crews continuing to fly to the orbiting outpost on each country’s spacecraft.
Plans for broader cooperation, including possible Russian involvement in NASA’s Artemis program of lunar research, have fallen apart.
As Russia has become increasingly reliant on China for its energy exports and imports of key technology amid Western sanctions, Roscosmos has started cooperation with China on its prospective lunar mission.
Speaking to Russian reporters after the talks with Duffy, Bakanov said that they agreed to keep working on keeping the space station in operation to the end of the decade.
“Our experts will now start working on those issues in details,” Bakanov said, praising Duffy for giving a green light for those contacts “despite geopolitical tensions.”
The Russian space chief added that he and Duffy will report the results of the meeting to Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump to secure their blessing for potential space cooperation.
“In view of the difficult geopolitical situation, we will need to receive the necessary clearance from the leaders of our countries,” Bakanov said.
He added he invited Duffy to visit Moscow and the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan for the launch of another Russia-U.S. crew to the space station scheduled for November.
“I will put my efforts into keeping the channel of cooperation between Russia and the U.S. open, and I expect NASA to do the same,” Bakanov said.