U.S. and Russia have professional relations with regard to space - NASA administrator

WASHINGTON. April 19 (Interfax) - The United States and Russia maintain a professional relationship as part of joint space projects, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at a Senate subcommittee hearing on the president's fiscal year 2024 budget request.

"There is a very professional, competent relationship between the U.S. indeed and other international partners and the Russians with regard to space. Not only between the cosmonauts and the astronauts onboard the International Space Station, not only on the fact that we launch integrated crews with an American astronaut launching on a Russian Soyuz [to the ISS] and a Russian cosmonaut launching on the U.S. SpaceX Dragon Falcon 9 rocket. Not only that. But also the fact that there is a mission control of Americans and Russians - in Moscow, as well as Houston. And it is all working," Nelson said.

Roscosmos First Deputy General Director Andrei Yelchaninov said earlier in an interview with Interfax that Russia was ready to expand cooperation with NASA.

"We have established working contact with the Americans, specialists are interacting on a daily basis, and the cross-flight program is working, so we are not going to stop and are ready to broaden this cooperation," Yelchaninov said.

Space is one of the few areas where joint work with representatives of different countries is continuing despite the political situation, he said.

"At Roscosmos, we believe that there is no politics in space," Yelchaninov said.