NASA, Roscosmos agree to share flights

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW－NASA and Russia's space agency Roscosmos have signed a long-sought agreement to integrate flights to the International Space Station, allowing Russian astronauts to fly on US-made spacecraft in exchange for US astronauts being able to ride on Russia's Soyuz, the agencies said on Friday.

"The agreement is in the interests of Russia and the United States and will promote the development of cooperation within the framework of the ISS program," said Roscosmos in a statement, adding that it will facilitate the "exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes".

NASA and Roscosmos, core partners of the two-decade-old space station, have sought for years to renew routine integrated crewed flights as part of the agencies' long-standing civil alliance, now one of the last links of cooperation between the US and Russia as tensions flare over the conflict in Ukraine.

The first integrated flights under the new agreement will come in September, NASA said, with US astronaut Frank Rubio being launched to the space station from the Moscow-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan alongside two Russian astronauts, Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin.

In exchange, Russian astronaut Anna Kikina will join two US astronauts and a Japanese astronaut on a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to the orbital laboratory, that will take off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The US space agency said having at least one Russian and one US astronaut aboard the space station is crucial to keeping the laboratory running.

"Flying integrated crews ensures there are appropriately trained crew members on board the station for essential maintenance and spacewalks," NASA said in a statement on Friday.

Shortly before the agreement was announced, President Vladimir Putin replaced the head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin with Yuri Borisov, former deputy prime minister and deputy defense minister. Rogozin will get a new job, the Kremlin said on Friday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Russia has banned the entry of 384 Japanese lawmakers in a retaliatory move.

In response to Japan's decision to impose personal sanctions against a large group of Russian lawmakers in April, "a decision has been made to deny entry into Russia for 384 members of the House of Representatives of the National Diet of Japan from July 14", the statement said.

Japanese officials "have taken a hostile anti-Russian stance" and have "made baseless accusations "against Russia in the context of the country's military presence in Ukraine, it added.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry imposed additional sanctions against Russian individuals and entities on April 12 over the conflict in Ukraine. Japan also froze the assets of 398 Russian individuals, most of whom were members of the State Duma.

Also on Friday, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a seventh package of measures that will ban the importation of Russian gold. The proposal is part of a new set of measures that are intended to improve the implementation and effectiveness of the EU's six earlier packages of sanctions against Russia.

Agencies - Xinhua