MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Russia's new nodal module Prichal is due to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in fall 2021, Roscosmos General Director Dmitry Rogozin said.
"The International Space Station still has a solid future. We are planning to deploy a new Russian module, Nauka, to the ISS in April 2021. Six months after that launch, in fall 2021, the ISS will grow with another element, the Prichal nodal module," Rogozin said in his video address on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the manned operation of the ISS.
He said he had no doubt that the ISS would enable further international cooperation in outer space and would contribute to international diplomatic efforts "despite the complicated situation on the global political stage."
"Friends, I cordially congratulate you on this occassion and wish safe travels to our ISS," Rogozin said.
ISS Expedition 64 comprising Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins also congratulated the first ISS crew, as well as scientists and specialists who provided support to their mission.
"We congratulate all participants in this improbable international project and want to thank them all. We thank everyone who was at the outset and was and is providing relevant support," Kud-Sverchkov said in his video address.
The manned operation of the ISS began on November 2, 2000, when the Soyuz TM-31 spaceship brought in the first expedition - Russian cosmonauts Yury Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalyov and NASA astronaut William Shepherd, who became the first ISS commander. Since then the station has been continuously lived in.
The first ISS expedition came back to the Earth on March 21, 2001, onboard the U.S. space shuttle Discovery STS-102. The flight lasted for 186 days.
The period of the ISS operation expires in 2024. Russia is negotiating an extension of the ISS functioning till 2030 with project partners.