Roscosmos-NASA statement on details of new station sets example of cooperation - Russian Embassy
WASHINGTON. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The Russian Embassy to the United States has hailed the statement by Roscosmos and NASA regarding the elaboration of international technical standards for the international station to be deployed in lunar orbit as an important example of bilateral cooperation.
"The signing of the joint statement on deep-space exploration and research by the state corporation Roscosmos and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] sets an important example of how our countries, should they combine their potentials, can move forward to resolve ambitious tasks," Embassy press secretary Nikolai Lakhonin said in a statement.
"The joint project to build the Deep Space Gateway station in lunar orbit may become an important stage of cooperation in manned space missions," he said.
"It will be a logical continuation of the International Space Station, providing a platform for productive cooperation and partnership based on the equality of parties, mutual trust, and respect," Lakhonin said.
"We consider the development of Russian-American scientific and technological partnership to be in the interests of both our countries. The current level of bilateral cooperation in these fields, to our regret, does not fully reflect its potential," Lakhonin said.
He said he expected Russia and the United States "to initiate other big projects, which will not just change the atmosphere of bilateral relations, but also make a substantial contribution to economic cooperation between the two countries," he said.
Roscosmos head Igor Komarov told reporters on the sidelines of the International Astronomical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, on Thursday that the corporation and NASA had signed a statement envisaging the elaboration of seven international technical standards drawing on the best international practices for building an international station in lunar orbit.