RT reported that on April 9, NASA's Deputy Director for Space Missions, Mr. Ken Bowersox, said that the Russian and US Space agencies are working together to develop a plan to get the International Space Station (ISS) out of orbit.
In an interview, Mr. Bowersox revealed that in addition to his Russian colleagues, NASA experts are also working closely with a number of other countries as a team in the mission to end the ISS mission.
There is always a possibility that the ISS will operate longer, or it could also end earlier if a serious incident occurs, Bowersox added, not giving a specific reason for the ISSs termination.
The ISS was launched into orbit in 1998, a cooperation project between Russia, the US, Canada, Japan and many European countries. This space station is considered one of the oldest space technology research and development platforms ever created by humans.
According to Space.com, the ISS was originally scheduled to operate until 2024, but NASA later approved an extension of the operation period to 2030. However, Russia has announced that it will withdraw after 2024 to focus on building its own space station around 2028.
However, NASA and the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) have recently extended the space exchange agreement on the ISS until 2026 and continued to cooperate regularly in missions related to the station over the past 3 years.
On April 7, Mr. Bowersox had a meeting with Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov at Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan), operated by Russia.
According to Roscosmos, the two sides reviewed a number of initiatives, including preparations for future launches from the Baiterek missile complex - a cooperation project between Russia and Kazakhstan to deploy the new Soyuz-5 missile.
The discussion took place in the context of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Experimental Project - the first manned flight jointly conducted by the US and the Soviet Union in 1975.
Despite escalating tensions over the conflict in Ukraine and a serious decline in bilateral relations, space cooperation between Russia and the US remains one of the few areas less affected.
