The head of the Russian space Agency spoke in detail about plans for the future, cooperation with foreign partners and, of course, Russia's participation in the ISS program.
Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos State Corporation, believes that cooperation between Russia and the United States of America in space can be restored in 15-20 years.
"Maybe the United States will be different then, in 15 or 20 years. Maybe by that time they will have learned how to express poison and restrain their aggression towards Russia and other countries. Maybe they'll run out of bombs. I do not know, but I will dream, " he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
The head of the department also described which concept would be optimal for the Russian space sphere: national missions in the near space and international missions in the far space. Thus, the participation of foreign partners in the national orbital service station (ROSS), which is seen as an alternative after a possible exit from the ISS program, is not expected: the fact is that it can be given "pragmatic meaning and military-applied significance."
Manned cosmonautics, according to Rogozin, is necessary only in cases where it is not possible to solve the issue with automatic systems and complexes. Therefore, the crews of manned missions will only deliver equipment to the new station, install it and check it, and then return to Earth. Cooperation with foreign colleagues is advisable during missions to other celestial bodies — the Moon and Mars. "Such flights are dangerous, very expensive and technically difficult. It is necessary to feel the shoulder of a partner here," the CEO of Roscosmos stressed.
If Russia ceases to participate in the International Space Station program from 2024, obligations to partners — the United States, Europe and Japan — will still be fulfilled, there is no talk of a "demarche". Plus, we need to keep the domestic modules launched last year " Science " and " Berth ", to find an option in which they can continue working.
"If a decision is made to curtail our activities on the ISS and deploy the Russian orbital service station (ROSS), then in accordance with the prescribed procedures, we will notify our partners in advance. Accordingly, they will have to make a decision. If they do not agree and try to keep the station without Russia's participation, they will need to compensate for our absence with technical means, which they do not have yet. Perhaps they will appear over time, but they will have to spend both money and time to replace Russia. I don't know how they will succeed," Rogozin believes. He admitted that foreign partners could buy "services to maintain the station" and its "rescue" from the Russian side for rubles.
Earlier, Roscosmos received letters from the heads of NASA, ESA and CSA demanding to lift sanctions against the state corporation's enterprises in order to continue cooperation on the ISS. Since the answers were "carbon copy" restrictions do not want to be canceled, Rogozin decided to soon report to Vladimir Putin about his position on the International Space Station and Russia's participation in it.
The most "natural" partners of Roscosmos today are the BRICS countries, in particular China and India, Rogozin noted. In the coming months, he is scheduled to meet with the heads of the Chinese National Space Administration and the Indian National Space Agency.
