CAPE CANAVERAL /State of Florida/, August 1. /TASS/. US Secretary of Transportation and acting head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shawn Duffy has authorized direct technical discussions on joint projects with Roscosmos, Russian State Space Corporation Director General Dmitry Bakanov said in response to a TASS question during a press briefing following his meeting with Duffy.
Bakanov noted that the heads of the US and Russian space agencies discussed national orbital stations and the need to "synchronize certain technical solutions to ensure seamless operations in orbit." "We also touched upon cooperation in deep space exploration. But most importantly, he essentially gave his subordinates the green light to engage in direct technical discussions between Roscosmos and NASA on joint projects," Bakanov emphasized.
"By the next meeting, scheduled for November-December, we will prepare a comprehensive agenda and work through it at the technical level to reach concrete decisions," the Roscosmos chief explained. He added that "these decisions will also depend on the geopolitical situation and the state of bilateral relations."
"Today, it was crucial to secure NASA leadership’s approval for continued cooperation. Since this was our first meeting, we were very keen to ensure that communication channels remain open," Bakanov said.
He clarified that, given the current geopolitical climate, discussing "large-scale new joint projects" would be "overly ambitious." At the same time, Bakanov pointed out that within the framework of International Space Station (ISS) cooperation and the cross-flight program, American colleagues continue to visit Moscow and travel to Baikonur. "We also conduct such visits," he added.