Russia just reserved a seat from SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule to fly its cosmonaut to the International Space Station or the ISS, the head of the space agency of the Russian nation, Dmitry Rogozin, announced.
The head of the Roscosmos space agency, Rogozin, has previously figured in heated exchanges with the CEO and founder of the American space exploration firm SpaceX, Elon Musk.
However, the latest development that Rogozin himself first announced could likely suggest that both parties have laid their differences to rest, as per the report by Futurism.
Russia Reserves a Seat at SpaceX's Crew Dragon Capsule
The Roscosmos chief went to his Twitter account to officially announce that Russia reserved a seat from the Crew Dragon Capsule of SpaceX for an ISS mission in 2022.
Rogozin further noted that the Russian nation would be sending its cosmonaut, Anna Kikina, aboard the SpaceX spacecraft, instead of its very own Soyuz rocket.
The head of the Russian space agency said that "Anna Kikina, as part of the Roscosmos-NASA cross flights, will fly to the ISS in the fall of 2022."
Аня Кикина в рамках перекрёстных полётов Роскосмос-НАСА полетит на МКС осенью 2022 года в составе экипажа американского коммерческого корабля. Соответственно астронавта НАСА включим в состав нашего экипажа на пилотируемом корабле "Союз МС". pic.twitter.com/idv3zIQ20A
— ROGOZIN (@Rogozin) December 8, 2021
Russia: NASA Reserves Soyuz Seat
In response to that, the senior writer of SpaceNews, Jeff Foust, noted that the move of Roscosmos to fly its cosmonaut on the Crew Dragon is part of the seat barter agreement between NASA and the Russian nation.
In fact, Rogozin further said in his announcement that the United States also reserved a seat from the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to fly its NASA astronaut.
However, NASA has yet to confirm and reveal more details about the said "seat barter agreement."
Read Also : NASA: International Space Station Still At Risk from Falling Debris From Russia-Spacewalk Under Review
Russia vs. SpaceX's Elon Musk
Although previously Rogozin and Elon Musk are not really on good terms, the two heads seem to have come into peace.
Back then, Rogozin even aired his frustration with what to him is Musk's mockery to the Russian space program.
However, during that time, even NASA predicted that "cosmonauts will fly on Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner," noting that the tickets to the seats of the former are notably cheap.
Eventually, Rogozin has recently been speaking nicely of SpaceX.
The Roscosmos head even said that "SpaceX has already acquired enough experience for us to be able to put our cosmonauts on Crew Dragon" last Oct. 26 in a press conference, according to Space.com.
In the same conference, the Russian space agency head went on to reveal that there is also a possibility that NASA will be sending its astronauts on a Russian spacecraft.
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Written by Teejay Boris
