Looking back to October 2018, we find the last instance where top officials from NASA and their Russian counterpart, Roscosmos , were seen together. This long pause in collaboration has finally ended, thanks to the recent launch of the Crew 11 mission , which served as a pivotal moment for the two space agencies to reconnect.
A meeting to save the furniture. Dmitry Bakanov, the new general director of Roscosmos , made his inaugural trip to the United States last week to observe the launch of the SPACEX Crew-11 mission. This mission saw two American astronauts, one Japanese astronaut, and one Russian astronaut embark on a journey to the International Space Station (ISS) .
<img alt="A Pakistani astronaut at the Chinese space station is not only unusual. It is China occupying US power vacuum" width="375" height="142" src="https://i.blogs.es/fbfc30/astronauta-pakistani/375_142.jpeg"/>During this trip, Bakanov took the opportunity to meet with NASA’s acting administrator , Sean Duffy. Key topics included the future of the aging space station and a planned withdrawal roadmap scheduled for 2030 .
NASA and ROSCOSMOS are needed. In a context where ongoing wars and geopolitical tensions have disrupted many collaborative efforts, the International Space Station and seat exchanges on Crew Dragon and Soyuz vehicles remain some of the few remaining avenues for cooperation. Notably, this marked the first high-level meeting between the agencies in nearly eight years. Previous discussions had been complicated by the belligerent attitude of Dmitry Rogozin , the former chief of Roscosmos.
According to the Russian state agency Tass, Bakanov and Duffy reached an agreement to extend the shared use of the ISS until 2028 , alongside a coordinated process for decommissioning it by 2030 . “The conversation was quite good,” Bakanov stated.
The Associated Press reported that both leaders highlighted the necessity of maintaining cooperation in space, despite the significant “discrepancies” faced on Earth. They also sought to obtain approval from their respective presidents for forthcoming collaborative projects, which include lunar missions and explorations of deep space.
The ISS falls apart. The urgency behind this meeting is not coincidental; it comes at a moment when the condition of the ISS has become a subject of “deep concern.” This assessment was echoed by the NASA Aerospace Security Advisory Panel in April, which labeled the upcoming years as possibly the “riskiest period” in the station’s extensive history.
One of the most troubling issues is the persistent air leaks in the Russian module Zvezda. Initially detected in 2019, these leaks have proven difficult to rectify, continuing to pose a significant risk according to NASA.
Compounding these air leaks are other concerns plaguing a structure nearing its 30th anniversary . Critical systems are lacking spare parts, space suits utilize outdated technology from the 1970s which have led to various incidents, and ongoing issues with sanitation facilities are among the many challenges facing the ISS.
Pension plan. The unifying theme behind these risks is a significant budget deficit. Currently, no government is inclined to allocate additional funds to the ISS, prioritizing instead investments in upcoming lunar missions and commercial space stations. Thus, the encounters between Bakanov and Duffy reflect an urgent necessity to collaboratively manage the remaining years of the ISS, which serves as the largest symbol of international cooperation beyond Earth.
One of the significant developments in this context is the nearly billion-dollar contract awarded to Spacex by NASA for the development of a spacecraft designed to safely guide the ISS towards a controlled reentry into the Pacific Ocean. Prior to this, ISS collaborators had contemplated utilizing Russian Progress spacecraft for this purpose, but Roscosmos may now reconsider that option. Regardless of the approach, the retirement of the ISS is scheduled by the end of the decade, a date that is becoming increasingly certain.
Image | ROSCOSMOS
For more insights, check out Xataka’s report, which contains a forceful warning from NASA’s Security Committee regarding the ISS: it is in notably poor condition.