MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - A delegation of the Russian Federal Space agency has left for the United States where it will hold talks on the balance of contributions of the sides to the construction and supplies of the International Space Station (ISS), agency top spokesman Vyacheslav Dabidenko told Interfax on Wednesday.
"Head of the agency human flights program Alexei Krasnov leads the Russian delegation. It will be the first meeting of Russian and American experts after the United States lifted restrictions on cooperation with Russia on the ISS program," he said.
Davidenko said the talks will focus on the conditions of the flights of NASA astronauts on Russian spacecraft, including prices. The sides are also expected to discuss the situation stemming from the failure of NASA to stand by its commitments to shuttle a Russian energy module to ISS.
U.S. President George Bush signed amendments to the Iran Non-Proliferation Act of 2000 on November 22.
The act directly linked cooperation between NASA and Russia with Moscow's compliance with the ban on deliveries of commodities, services and technologies that could help Iran to make nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, and ballistic and cruise missiles. NASA was not allowed to transfer large sums of money to the Federal Space Agency for the ISS project without authorization from the president, which also had to be confirmed by a number of congressional committees.
From now on, the bull signed by the U.S. president lifts restrictions on cooperation with Russia on the ISS program.
According to new rules, NASA is allowed to procure equipment and services for ensuring the U.S. involvement in the ISS program from enterprises and organizations of the Russian missile and space industry until January 1, 2012.
A long break in U.S. space shuttle launches followed the Columbia shuttle crash in February 2003. The second shuttle launch after the Columbia crash has been rescheduled from March 2006 to the summer of that year. Under such circumstances, NASA astronauts can be delivered to the ISS only by Russian Soyuz spacecraft. For this purpose, a space agreement on payment for such services must be signed between the Federal Space Agency and NASA.
According to unofficial information, the cost of a U.S. astronaut delivery to the ISS and his return to Earth by Russian Soyuz manned spacecraft and the maintenance of its activity during the six-month expedition with the help of Russian Progress freighters may amount to $60 million. It is known that the cost of a 10-day space tour to the ISS aboard a Soyuz spacecraft equals $20 million.
William McArthur will be the first astronaut for whose return to Earth by a Soyuz spacecraft NASA will have to pay. McArthur has been working at the ISS as part of Expedition 12 since October. The term of his ISS mission expires in March 2006. NASA earlier asked the Federal Space Agency to reserve a seat for its astronauts at the Soyuz spacecraft that will fly to the ISS in spring and autumn 2006.