MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. The extension of the operating lifespan of the International Space Station (ISS) requires coordination with all ministries, as well as submitting additional substantiating materials to the Russian government, Roscosmos Executive Director for manned space flights Sergey Krikalev said on Monday.
"As we said, the issue of extending the flight of the ISS’ Russian segment is being worked on. Or rather, let’s say, the extension of the entire station’s [mission] - the decision is made by all partners, the majority of partners have already looked into and confirmed the possibility of this extension. And in order for this decision to be made, paperwork was sent to the government with a proposal to extend the station’s mission. Until this moment, the Energia rocket and space corporation has been telling us about technical feasibility, and has been talking about the necessary measures for this extension to be technically implemented. And now the government has requested that we send additional substantiating materials outlining technical feasibility and asked us to coordinate the decision with other ministries," he told reporters.
According to the official, the issue is planned to be addressed "immediately after the holidays."