A Russian spacecraft successfully delivered American astronaut Jonathan Kim and two Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, in a flight lauded by Moscow as an illustration of productive space collaboration between Russia and the United States.
The Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying Kim alongside Russians Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky. It docked with the ISS three hours later, according to Russia’s Roscosmos state space corporation.
Following the opening of the hatches, Kim and the Russian cosmonauts were seen smiling and embracing their fellow crew members aboard the station, which now hosts a crew of 10, including four NASA astronauts, five Russians, and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi.
“Throughout his eight-month mission aboard the orbital outpost, Kim will be engaged in scientific research encompassing technology development, Earth science, biology, human research, and various other fields,” NASA stated in a press release.
President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment on Tuesday commended the US-Russia space partnership in the wake of the Russian rocket’s launch towards the ISS.
Kirill Dmitriev, who is advocating for a renewed phase in US-Russia relations and held discussions in Washington the previous week, noted that Tuesday’s launch represented the latest instance of an enduring partnership that dates back to 1975.
That year marked the first crewed international space mission jointly undertaken by the United States and the Soviet Union, which involved the docking of an Apollo and a Soyuz spacecraft in orbit.
That mission, which featured the historic first international handshake in space, served as a symbol of detente during the Cold War era.
“Russian and US cooperation within the space sector remains ongoing today,” Dmitriev affirmed on Tuesday, sharing a video of the Soyuz rocket’s liftoff on his official Telegram channel.
Despite extensive US sanctions imposed on Moscow due to its involvement in the war in Ukraine, space remains a domain where collaboration has persisted.
Dmitriev, who has previously highlighted the potential for joint Russian-US investment in the Arctic region and in the development of Russian rare earth elements, has suggested that Moscow could provide a small nuclear power plant for a mission to Mars planned by billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
However, with the ISS approaching the end of its operational lifespan, Russia intends to proceed independently with its own space station project, with plans to launch the first two modules in 2027. The nation is also increasing its collaborative efforts with China in the realm of space exploration.
