OREANDA-NEWS. Jim Bridenstine, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said that the agency is considering the possibility of cooperation with Russia on the delivery of American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2020.

According to him, the space departments of the United States and Russia are negotiating on the delivery of American citizens to the ISS in Russian spaceships. It was discussed in connection with the end of the contract between the two countries for the transportation of American astronauts on Russian Soyuz spacecraft, as well as the absence of US ships suitable for such a purpose. Bridenstine believes that the goal of both countries is to keep the presence of American astronauts on the space station.

Nowadays Russian Soyuz rockets are the only manned spacecraft that fly to the ISS. In the US, the companies Boeing and SpaceX are developing manned shuttles for such flights.

Ivan Moiseev, the head of Russian Space Policy Institute stated that NASA will have to purchase additional berth in the Soyuz spacecraft in order not to leave American segment of the ISS without control and maintenance in the second half of 2020. “An American astronaut is needed there just on the legal grounds, because shifting responsibility for a segment to another country is something incredible. Therefore, of course, Americans will strive to avoid this situation. In any case, the United States will not allow the NASA not to have an astronaut, and it will buy berths in the Soyuz spacecraft,” Moiseev said.

According to him, the commissioning of new American spacecraft can be carried over more than once to ensure safety requirements. “The security requirements are very high, and the NASA is not going to reduce them,” he added.