Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov has arrived in the United States for talks with acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, marking the first official visit by a head of Russia’s space agency since 2018, Roscosmos said Tuesday.
Bakanov landed in Houston, Texas, earlier in the day, according to Roscosmos. His meeting with Duffy will focus on continuing a cross-flight agreement between NASA and Roscosmos, extending the life of the International Space Station, as well as plans to ensure the safe deorbiting of the station, the agency added.
The Roscosmos chief is scheduled to meet members of NASA’s Crew-11 mission, including cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, ahead of their planned July 31 launch aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The mission will be Platonov’s first spaceflight.
Bakanov will also tour NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, as well as the spacecraft manufacturing facilities of Boeing and SpaceX.
NASA has not yet publicly confirmed the visit.
In 2018, the Biden administration temporarily lifted an entry ban imposed on former Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin to allow him to visit the United States.
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