BAIKONUR /Kazakhstan/, September 12. /TASS/. Russia’s state-run space corporation Roscosmos offered its help to NASA amid the Starliner troubles, just like US colleagues did when Russia experienced issues with its Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, Roscosmos Director General Yury Borisov has told reporters.
Borisov recalled the December 2022 loss of pressure in Soyuz MS-22’s external radiator cooling loop, which resulted in a decision not to use it for crew return. As a result, the spacecraft returned to the Earth on an uncrewed mission. Back then, the US side offered seats in its SpaceX Crew-5 spacecraft for the MS-22 crew that remained aboard the ISS. However, Roscosmos sent its Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on an unmanned mission to bring the cosmonauts back.
"We did the same under these circumstances, although we were absolutely sure that the US side is guaranteed to cope with this situation on its own," Borisov said at a press conference.
He went on to say that space missions remain a risky endeavor, where all sorts of emergencies are possible.
"It is necessary to always have a backup plan. This is why our close cooperation is a prerequisite for the space station’s reliable and sustainable operation. This [cooperation] is worth a lot, it took years to be created and it will be very sad to lose it," he said, adding that Roscosmos will do its best to preserve the current spirit of cooperation.
Boeing launched the Starliner on June 5, marking the spacecraft’s first manned flight to the space station. On board the craft were astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. They were originally scheduled to remain in orbit until June 18. But due to problems with the spacecraft’s thrusters during its rendezvous with the space station, the return date was pushed back first to June 26 and then indefinitely. NASA eventually decided that the astronauts would return to Earth as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission in February 2025. The spacecraft was brought back to Earth in uncrewed mode in the early hours of September 7.
NASA, Roscosmos to keep working on ISS seat swaps
"We will keep working on seat-swap flights. One of them is scheduled for spring 2025, and, of course, we will come to terms and continue this well-proven practice," Borisov said.
In July 2022, Roscosmos and NASA signed a seat-swap agreement allowing Russian cosmonauts to fly to the ISS on US spacecraft and US astronauts to travel aboard Russian spaceships. The agreement makes sure that there always is at least one Russian cosmonaut and one NASA astronaut aboard the ISS to serve its Russian and US segments. News came in December 2023 that Roscosmos and NASA planned to continue cross-flights until 2025 inclusive.
The head of NASA’s manned spaceflight directorate, Ken Bowersox, told TASS on Sunday that the Russian and US space agencies are working to extend their seat swap program beyond 2025.