LE BOURGET /France/, June 18. /TASS/. The Russian space corporation Roscosmos leadership plans to take part in the 70th International Astronautical Congress, set to take place in the USA this year, Roscosmos Deputy Director General Sergei Savelyev told TASS on Tuesday at the 53rd Paris Air Show in Le Bourget.
"Currently, members of the state corporation Roscosmos leadership are planning to participate in the 70th International Astronautical Congress, the largest professional thematic forum in the world, set to be held this year in Washington," Savelyev said.
According to him, Roscosmos also considers participating in the fall session of the UN General Assembly in New York. The Roscosmos deputy head refused to provide any additional details.
In response to the question concerning the visit of NASA director to Russia, the Roscosmos official informed that so far, such a visit is not on the agenda.
A visit by Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin was planned for February 2019, however, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine sent an official letter revoking the invitation in January. In an interview with The Washington Post, the NASA head informed that he had made this decision due to the stance of US senators.
ISS operation
Speaking of a possible extension of the operation of the International Space Station (ISS) until 2028, Savelyev stated that Roscosmos supports the extension as long as it is justified from a technical viewpoint, primarily, from the viewpoint of the crew safety.
"European colleagues will state their opinion regarding this in the fall, after the conference of the European Space Agency at the ministerial level. As for our American colleagues, they are still discussing NASA’s further work at the ISS, as far as we know, taking into account the existing proposals on further commercialization of the station, and a final conclusion has not been formed yet," the Roscosmos official informed.