MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The Russian-US cooperation in investigating the causes of the Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft’s loss in December is the example of successful teamwork between the two countries in the space sector, the head of Russian space corporation Roscosmos Igor Komarov said on Friday.
"Now the example of the Progress crash shows very close cooperation. We are working together on solving our joint problems, including ensuring the work of our joint crews," Komarov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
The Roscosmos chief expressed hope that the Russian-US cooperation in the space sector will broaden under the administration of US President Donald Trump. "We hope that common sense will prevail and cooperation in the space area, first of all, the peaceful use of space, will be expanded," he stressed.
The Izvestia newspaper reported earlier that the leadership of Roscosmos has decided to invite experts from the US space agency NASA to join the investigation into the causes of the Soyuz-U carrier rocket’s crash with the Progress MS-04 space freighter on December 1, 2016.
NASA’s press service confirmed to Izvestia that the agency is participating in the crash investigation as this concerns security of both Russian and US members of the International Space Station’s crew. A team in charge of cooperation as part of the ISS is involved in the investigation.
The Progress MS-04 cargo spacecraft launched from the Baikonur spaceport on December 1 with the help of a Soyuz-U carrier rocket was lost during the 382nd second of flight at an altitude of 190 km over the Republic of Tyva in south Siberia. Most of its fragments burned up in the dense layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. The space freighter was expected to deliver about 2.5 tonnes of various cargoes to the ISS, fuel, water and the air for cosmonauts, and also New Year’s gifts for the crew.