On July 14 local time, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Manturov's office announced that after NASA Administrator Isaac Menendez visited, Russia and the United States have developed a joint plan to end the operation of the International Space Station by the end of 2030.
On that day, Mamturov, General Manager of Roscosmos, Bakanov, and Isaacman attended the launch ceremony. At 17:48 on Moscow time on the 14th, the Russian manned spacecraft "Soyuz MS-29" was successfully launched from the Baitkor Space Launch Site in Kazakhstan. The spacecraft carried Russian astronauts Peter Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as American astronaut Anil Menon, to the International Space Station.
According to reports, this is the first time in eight years that a NASA administrator has visited the Baikonur Space Launch Site. Both Russia and the United States also discussed emergency mutual assistance cooperation at the National Orbital Station, lunar exploration projects, as well as joint experiments in space medicine and biology.
The International Space Station was constructed in 1998, originally designed to last for 15 years, and its lifespan has been extended multiple times. The Russian module, the Core Module "Sputnik", has been experiencing air leakage issues since 2019.
In June this year, due to increased air leakage, two Russian astronauts carried out maintenance operations. Additionally, five other astronauts temporarily entered the Dragon spacecraft for safety reasons. They returned to the space station only after the maintenance work was paused.
Reuters noted that it is rare for the International Space Station to issue such emergency orders. These orders are meant to prepare astronauts for immediate evacuation in case of a disaster, and are usually issued only when the space station encounters space debris or other emergencies. To date, the International Space Station has never actually carried out an emergency evacuation.
Over the past few months, both the United States and Russia have been arguing over the cause of the air leak in that section and the maintenance plan. Experts say that despite the increasing leakage, the space station is still safe.
