Russia tells NASA space station thet pullout less imminent than announced earlier
July 28, 2022, 8:41 am

Russia tells NASA space station thet pullout less imminent than announced earlier

International Space Station/Pixabay

A senior NASA official told Reuters on Wednesday (July 27), Russian space officials have informed their US counterparts that Moscow would like to keep flying its cosmonauts on the International Space Station at least until their own orbital outpost is built.

Yuri Borisov, the newly appointed director-general of Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, surprised NASA on Tuesday (July 26) by announcing that Moscow intended to end the longstanding space station partnership “after 2024.”

Kathy Lueders, NASA’s space operations chief, said in an interview that Russian officials later on Tuesday (July 26) told the US space agency that Roscosmos would like to remain in the partnership as Russia works to get its planned orbital outpost, named ROSS, up and running, the Alarabiya English reported, citing Reuters.

“We’re not getting any indication at any working level that anything’s changed,” Lueders told Reuters, adding that NASA’s relations with Roscosmos remain “business as usual.”

The space station, a science laboratory spanning the size of a football field and orbiting some 250 miles (400 kilometer) above Earth, has been continuously occupied for more than two decades under a US-Russian-led partnership that also includes Canada, Japan and 11 European countries.

In this image released by NASA, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is rolled out of the horizontal integration facility at Launch Complex 39A during preparations for the Crew-2 mission, on April 16, 2021. (AFP)

It offers one of the last holdouts of cooperation between the US and Russia, though its fate has been called into question since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Russia to quit International Space Station after 2024

Lueders said, a formal agreement to extend Russia’s participation beyond 2024 has not yet been made. NASA, Russia and the station’s other partners plan to discuss the prospect of extending each other’s presence on the laboratory to 2030 during a periodic meeting on Friday (July 29) of the board that oversees the station’s management.

Roscosmos published on its website on Wednesday an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, the flight director for the space station’s Russian segment, who was quoted as saying Russia must remain on the station until ROSS is operating.

Solovyov said: “We, of course, need to continue operating the ISS until we create a more or less tangible backlog for ROSS.”

NASA: Russia occupies 22 percent of Ukraine farmland

“We must take into account that if we stop manned flights for several years, then it will be very difficult to restore what has been achieved.”

The report noted that the American and Russian segments of the space station were deliberately built to be intertwined and technically interdependent.

Source: alarabiyaenglish

Bangladesh has more women than men as population grows to 165 million UK's Liz Truss joins Conservative rival in vowing tough line on China

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.