The meeting touched upon a new launch complex, the ISS, and the Soyuz-Apollo docking anniversary

Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Bakanov and NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations Kenneth Bowersox have met in Kazakhstan to discuss joint projects, the Russian space agency has announced. The meeting took place on Monday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a Russian-operated spaceport in Kazakhstan.

According to a Roscosmos press release, the two officials reviewed several initiatives, including preparations for future launches from the new Baiterek Rocket Complex, currently under construction. The Baiterek project is a joint Russian-Kazakh effort designed to support the launch of the new Soyuz-5 rocket. Test launches are expected to begin by the end of the year.

The agenda also included ongoing cooperation between Roscosmos and NASA aboard the International Space Station, as well as plans to develop tourism in Baikonur. The discussion comes ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project - the first crewed spaceflight jointly conducted by the US and Soviet Union in 1975. NASA and Roscosmos are planning commemorative events, though no details have been released.

The meeting preceded Tuesday's launch of the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to transport Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Aleksey Zubritsky and NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim to the ISS. They are scheduled to remain aboard the station for approximately eight months and return to Earth in December.

The launch marks the 80th anniversary of the Nazi defeat in World War II. The spacecraft was named Victory Rocket, and its carrier featured commemorative imagery marking the occasion.

Despite the Ukraine conflict and Western sanctions on Moscow, space cooperation between the US and Russia has remained intact. NASA and Roscosmos recently extended their cross-flight agreement to the ISS through 2026 and have collaborated continuously on station-related missions over the past three years. Monday's meeting took place amid a thaw in relations amid renewed diplomatic efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

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(RT.com)