Charles Vincent noted that "the Russians still did a lot of theoretical work" that the Americans did not do.
WASHINGTON, April 12. /tass/. Washington will be interested in cooperation with Moscow in the space sector even after the termination of operation of the International Space Station (ISS). Charles Vincent, former assistant director of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), expressed confidence in this in an interview with TASS.
When asked whether, in his opinion, the Russian Federation and the United States would cease cooperation in the space sphere after the expected launch of the ISS from orbit within a few years, the specialist replied: “no. It won't happen because all this [space exploration] is very expensive." "The Russians have done a lot of theoretical work in space that we haven't done," he added, stressing that these studies are of interest to the American side.
"We have the money to produce the equipment. But we need their help in order to decide which equipment we should produce," Vincent emphasized, speaking about Russian specialists. He was an assistant to Daniel Goldin, who served as director of NASA in 1992-2001, and oversaw issues related to contacts between Moscow and Washington regarding cooperation on manned space flights.
Speaking about what exactly the United States, in his opinion, sees the advantages of cooperation with Russia in space, Vincent noted: "This is a large volume of [Russian-conducted] experiments, [scientific] notes and the like that we can still use." "They are much more advanced in this regard than we are," he added, referring to the theoretical space research conducted by Russian scientists. "There may not be much money coming from them [from the Russian side], but it's about [their] competence," he added, describing NASA's attitude to cooperation with the Russian Federation.
Vincent stated that various options are currently being considered regarding the creation of a new orbital complex within the framework of international cooperation. "Of course, planning is underway for a new space station, which, as I understand it, will be better than this one," he said. The expert admitted that cooperation between Russia and the United States after the termination of operation of the ISS may concern the new orbital complex.
Vincent took part in an event on the occasion of Cosmonautics Day at the Russian Cultural Center in Washington on Friday. There was a screening of the film "White Sun of the Desert", which cosmonauts traditionally watch before the flight. Vincent is a member of the board of the non-profit organization Friends of the Russian Cultural Center.
Russia's plans for the ISS operation
In November 2022, Yuri Borisov, then head of Roscosmos, said in an interview with TASS that the duration of Russia's participation in the ISS project would depend on the technical condition of the Russian segment, the timing of the deployment of the Russian orbital station, the start of flights of Russian cosmonauts to it, and a number of other factors. The Russian side also stated that it plans to remain on the ISS until 2028. In early December 2024, Borisov noted that the final plan for the completion of the plant's operation would be clarified with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The ISS has been in orbit since November 20, 1998. The mass of the station is about 435 tons, and with docked ships it can reach 470 tons. The project participants are Russia, Canada, the USA, Japan and 10 member states of the European Space Agency (Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, France, Sweden and Switzerland).
