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Russia-US seat-swap flights to continue as long as ISS remains operational — Roscosmos

Director General Dmitry Bakanov added that it was too early to say when a formal agreement on the matter would be signed

BAIKONUR /Kazakhstan/, July 15. /TASS/. Russian-American crews will continue conducting seat-swap flights to the International Space Station (ISS) as long as the orbital outpost remains operational, Russian State Space Corporation (Roscosmos) Director General Dmitry Bakanov said.

"We have agreed in principle on extending the terms (for the ISS - TASS) until 2030, and of course, since the ISS has a Russian and an American segment, seat-swap flights involving Russian cosmonauts and NASA astronauts will also continue," he said at a press conference following the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft's docking with the ISS.

Bakanov added, however, that it was too early to say when a formal legal agreement would be signed.

Roscosmos and NASA signed a seat-swap agreement in 2022. Such flights ensure that at least one Russian cosmonaut and one NASA astronaut remain aboard the ISS to maintain operations in their respective segments in the event of incidents or changes to flight schedules.

A Soyuz-2.1 rocket carrying the spacecraft lifted off at 5:48 p.m. Moscow time (2:48 p.m. GMT) on July 14 and docked with the ISS at 8:52 p.m. Moscow time. Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon, arrived at the orbital outpost for a 261-day mission. Russia's program includes 38 experiments and two spacewalks.