According to Meredith McKay, Assistant Deputy Director of the Department for International Relations, NASA's priorities are "strengthening the security, predictability and transparency of activities in space".WASHINGTON, September 14.
/tass/. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) The United States is committed to positive cooperation with all countries in peaceful space exploration. This was stated on Wednesday by Meredith McKay, Assistant Deputy Director of the Department for International Relations, commenting on the current prospects for joint work, including with countries such as Russia and China.
At a conference in Washington organized by the US Chamber of Commerce, she was asked to comment on the state of international cooperation in space, including with countries that Washington considers its "historical rivals", such as Russia and China. She was asked to clarify how the situation has changed, including in the light of Russia's decision to withdraw from the ISS project and the development of the Russian Orbital Service Station (ROSS), China's construction of its own space station, as well as the intensification of cooperation between Russia and China in space.
"We are convinced that there is a place for everyone in peaceful space exploration," McKay replied. According to her, NASA's priorities are "strengthening the security, predictability and transparency of activities in space." "These are principles that should be available to each of the countries," she explained. "I think that from a global point of view, the prospects for our international cooperation in the future are extremely positive," the NASA representative added.
In turn, the head of the representative office of the European Space Agency (ESA) in Washington, Sylvie Espinas, who was present at the event, who was also addressed a similar question, said that European countries are currently not ready to cooperate with the Russian Federation in space in connection with what is happening around Ukraine. "Now, in the current situation, I think that our member states are not ready to consider the possibility of future cooperation with Russia. We'll see," she said. "We have another partner - China. At the moment we have cooperation with China, especially on scientific programs," she added.
According to her, ESA's refusal to cooperate with the Russian Federation on the ExoMars-2022 project, as well as the cancellation of launches of Russian launch vehicles from the Kourou cosmodrome in French Guiana, became "a wake-up call for Europe, which made it clear the need to be more autonomous in space." "We have realized our dependence [on Russia]," she said, noting that now European politicians will have to make efforts to eliminate this dependence.
Earlier, the Director General of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced that the decision on Russia's withdrawal from the ISS project after 2024 was made, while all obligations to partners will be fulfilled. He noted that by the time the Russian Federation leaves the ISS project, the formation of a Russian orbital service station will begin.
Flight Director of the Russian segment of the ISS, General Designer for Manned space Systems and complexes of the Russian Federation, General Designer of the Rocket and Space Corporation "Vladimir Solovyov, in an interview with the Russian Cosmos magazine, reported that the construction of a high-latitude ROSS could begin in 2028.
