A Russian cosmonaut boards the ISS on an American rocket

This is the first time in 20 years that a Russian citizen has traveled to the United States in space. Cooperation on the International Space Station is one of the few areas where Washington and Moscow work together. The International Space Station (ISS) carries two American NASA astronauts, one Russian and one Japanese astronaut. This is the first time in 20 years that a Russian citizen has traveled to the United States in space. Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket lifts off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. The launch had to be delayed due to Hurricane Ian hitting Florida last week. The four-person crew will form the next long-duration crew on the ISS and is expected to return to Earth in March 2023. The spacecraft is expected to arrive at the space station on Thursday night, about 29 hours after launch. This will be the sixth ISS crew to depart aboard a SpaceX vehicle since the private company began sending American astronauts into space in May 2020. Anna Kikhina, 38, is the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a US spacecraft, aboard a NASA-Roscosmos collaboration vehicle. Spacecraft since NASA’s launch in 2002. Space is one of the few areas where the US and Russia still work together. Two weeks ago, an American astronaut and two Russian colleagues flew to the ISS in a Russian Soyuz capsule. Cooperation between NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos continues despite tensions between the two countries over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. During a press conference on Monday, the head of Russia’s human spaceflight program, former cosmonaut Sergei Grigalev, said the Kremlin has approved continuing cooperation on the ISS until 2024. Moscow hopes to build its own space station but, until then, plans to continue international cooperation. The ISS partners — the United States, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan — have pledged to operate a joint space observatory by 2024. However, US officials plan to continue the program until 2030. le (AP, AFP, Reuters, DPA, Oates)

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