It is too early to talk about the delivery of Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on the American spacecraft Crew Dragon, as it still needs to be “brought to mind.” Such a statement on Tuesday, December 29, was made by the head of the state corporation “Roscosmos” Dmitry Rogozin. He stressed that this ship is experimental.
“Naturally, we understand which of our cosmonauts could fly, but it is too early to talk about this – both about negotiations and about the flight itself. Because the Crew Dragon ship, it has not yet been brought to mind, it is still an experimental ship, and these launches are most likely test launches, “he said on the air of Komsomolskaya Pravda radio.
Rogozin noted that the state corporation will be able to make a decision on possible full-scale negotiations on this topic only after the Americans certify the ship, and the Russian side is convinced of the safety of flights on it.
He recalled that earlier the practice of cross-flights to the ISS was common and until 2011 the Americans flew to the station on their ships. However, after two shuttle disasters occurred and many people died, this program was curtailed, and until 2020, astronauts from the United States flew to the ISS exclusively on Russian ships.
To date, the countries, as noted by Rogozin, are conducting active technical consultations on the resumption of the practice of cross-flights, but the names of specific cosmonauts who could take part in the program have not yet been announced.
On November 16, the American crewed spacecraft Crew Dragon launched to the ISS from Cape Canaveral in Florida. After flying, he successfully docked to the station and three NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, as well as the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi successfully transferred from the spacecraft to the ISS.