WASHINGTON, July  15, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The United States and Russia said 
Friday they would renew flights together to the International Space Station, 
preserving one of the last areas of cooperation amid Western attempts to 
isolate Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
       "To ensure continued safe operations of the International Space Station, 
protect the lives of astronauts and ensure continuous US presence in space, 
NASA will resume integrated crews on US crew spacecraft and the Russian Soyuz," 
the US space agency said in a statement.
       NASA said that astronaut Frank Rubio would fly with two Russian cosmonauts 
on a Soyuz rocket scheduled to launch on September 21 from Kazakhstan, with 
another astronaut, Loral O'Hara, taking another mission in early 2023.
       In a first, Russian cosmonauts will join NASA astronauts on SpaceX's new 
Crew-5 which will launch in September from Florida with a Japanese astronaut 
also on the mission.
       Another joint mission on the SpaceX Crew-6 will fly out in early 2023, NASA 
said.
       The move comes despite the European Space Agency earlier this week 
terminating its relationship with Russia on a mission to put a rover on Mars, 
infuriating Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin who banned cosmonauts on the ISS 
from using a European-made robotic arm.
       But hours before NASA's announcement, President Vladimir Putin dismissed 
Rogozin, a firebrand nationalist and ardent backer of the Ukraine invasion who 
once quipped that US astronauts should get to the space station on trampolines 
rather than Russian rockets.
       Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, said the agreement with NASA was in 
the interests of both countries and "will promote cooperation" on space.
       "The agreement seeks to guarantee that in the event of an emergency caused 
by the cancellation or major delay in a Russian or American space launch, at 
least one Roscomos cosmonaut and one NASA astronaut will be present to service 
the Russian and American sections respectively," it said.
       NASA said that the ISS was set up for joint participation by the United 
States and Russia along with Europe, Japan and Canada.
       "The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions 
from each space agency to function. No one agency has the capability to 
function independent of the others," NASA said.
       
       - 'Dear friends' in space -
       
       Soyuz rockets were the only way to reach the space station until SpaceX, 
run by the billionaire Elon Musk, debuted a capsule in 2020.
       The last NASA astronaut to take a Soyuz to the station was NASA astronaut 
Mark Vande Hei in 2021. 
       He returned to Earth in March this year alongside Russian cosmonauts, also 
on a Soyuz. 
       Speaking to reporters afterward, Vande Hei said that the cosmonauts 
remained his "very dear friends" despite their nations' tense relationship.
       "We supported each other throughout everything," he said. "And I never had 
any concerns about my ability to continue working with them."
       The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after Putin on 
February 24 invaded Ukraine, defying Western warnings.
       The sanctions, which include tough restrictions on financial interactions, 
have led to an exodus of leading US brands from Russia including Starbucks and 
McDonald's.
       But the International Space Station is unique. It was launched in 1998 at a 
time of hope for US-Russia cooperation following their Space Race competition 
during the Cold War.
       The ISS is expected to wind down in the next decade.
       Rogozin had warned that Western sanctions could affect cooperation.
       "If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from uncontrolled 
deorbiting and falling on US or European territory?" Rogozin wrote in a tweet 
earlier this year.
       Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not indicate that his removal meant 
Putin was unhappy with Rogozin.
       One independent media outlet said he would be promoted and could be put in 
charge of occupied territories in Ukraine.