Russian govt gives green light to Roscosmos for seat-swap spaceflights with NASA

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has accepted Roscosmos’s proposal to negotiate with NASA regarding seat-swapping flights to the International Space Station. The space agencies of both nations had verbally agreed to a deal of launching a NASA astronaut in Russia’s Soyuz capsule in return for a Russian astronaut’s space trip in an American spacecraft, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. The astronauts will be launched during missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and Russia has already named its cosmonaut as a candidate.

In an official document released by the Russian cabinet regarding the deal, it was stated that the decision has been made after approval from the "Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other interested federal executive authorities". It further noted that the nod is a green light "on holding negotiations on signing an agreement on the execution of an agreement between the State Corporation for Space Activities Roscosmos and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration space of the United States of America in relation to the flights of integrated crews on Russian and American manned transport ships".

Russia confirms candidacy of cosmonaut

The same was shared by Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Rogozin on Twitter, who said that this agreement is necessary for establishing coordination among the ISS crew and their mutual learning about the control systems of the Russian and American segments of the space station. Rogozin further said that Roscosmos has confirmed the candidacy of female cosmonaut Anna Kikina who is already undergoing training for the Dragon flight. "Accordingly, we are waiting for a proposal from the American side on the candidacy of a US astronaut to be included in the Russian crew", Rogozin said in a statement.

The announcement from the Russian side comes when Roscosmos has severed ties with major space agencies and its relationship with NASA is in a critical condition. However, Rogozin had said two weeks ago that he is not ruling out Kikina's flight in an American spacecraft despite the sour relations with NASA. Kikina is currently the only active female cosmonaut and is likely to launch to the space station under the Crew-5 mission targeted in the fall of 2022 as the first Russian to ride an American capsule. During Crew-5, Kikina will reportedly be accompanied by two NASA astronauts, Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, and one Japanese astronaut, Koichi Wakata.