CAPE CANAVERAL /State of Florida/, August 1. /TASS/. Russia’s Roscosmos State Space Corporation and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are unwilling to abandon the level of cooperation that was achieved in the 50 years since the Apollo-Soyuz mission, Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov said following a meeting with Sean Duffy, US Secretary of Transportation and acting NASA head.

"In fact, the Soyuz-Apollo mission was the starting point. Today, the International Space Station is a successor to that project. We have been successfully working together. You know about the Russian and US segments of the ISS, and seat-swap flights. We have things to build upon. We would in no way want to discard [this legacy]," he pointed out.

"Our colleagues have great respect for the Soyuz-Apollo mission, as well as for the Shuttle and Mir programs, and all dockings. It’s because we have been cooperating for 50 years that we don’t want to risk losing it all," the Roscosmos chief explained.

"It would be very easy to go and cut off ties, falling out with each other, but it would be hard to restore contact afterwards. Back in 1975, the Cold War was in full swing and it seemed impossible but still, the two countries — the two geopolitical rivals — managed to make an agreement," he noted.

Bakanov stressed that at a meeting with the acting NASA head, he had gotten the impression that his US counterpart fully shared that view. "Sean [Duffy] said that he understood the degree of responsibility because those projects could not be wasted or halted. He understands that. Later on, political decisions will be made," he said.

The Roscosmos chief emphasized that Russia intended to maintain ties and advance joint projects as it planned to prepare an agenda for further communication by November, which would contain a number of additional initiatives.

Soyuz-Apollo mission

This year marks 50 years since the Apollo-Soyuz space mission. On July 15, 1975, the Soviet Union’s Soyuz-19 manned spaceship carrying cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Valery Kubasov and the United States’ Apollo spacecraft with astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand and Donald Slayton on board were launched into orbit. The first-ever docking of manned spaceships belonging to different countries took place on July 17. The joint flight of the Soviet and US crews lasted until July 19.