ZHUKOVSKY. Aug 29 (Interfax) - The European Space Agency's (ESA) decision to suspend using Russian-made Soyuz spaceships to take European astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) stems from the specifics of the ESA's agreement with NASA, ESA Director General Jan Woerner told Interfax.
"We have an agreement with NASA, and we are delivering hardware and for that hardware delivery they are offering us flights, seats for astronauts. We do not have a right to say what type of ship this is, in the past they gave us seats in the Space Shuttle, now in the Soyuz. NASA now is introducing various spacecraft SpaceX and Boeing," he said.
This situation involves, on one hand, the agreement between the ESA and NASA, and the agreement between Roscosmos and NASA, on the other hand, Woerner said, adding that the ESA does not have a direct agreement with Roscosmos.
Rene Pichel, head of ESA permanent mission in Russia, said on August 26 that the ESA would not be using Russian-made Soyuz spacecraft to take its astronauts to the ISS in the next few years.
However, Pichel did not rule out that European astronauts could start using Russian-made spaceships again if the United States and Russia agree on 'crisscross flights'.
Currently, the Russian-made Soyuz is the only vehicle carrying cosmonauts to the ISS. The U.S. is developing its own spaceships.