A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft takes off in Florida. (AFP)
Moscow:
The Russian space agency, so far the only one capable of transporting astronauts to the International Space Station, on Sunday congratulated the American company SpaceX for the successful launch of a manned rocket.
Saturday’s launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was the first of American astronauts on American soil in nine years, and the first ever by a private company.
“I would like to salute our American colleagues,” said cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, Roscosmos executive director for crewed space programs, in a brief video address on the agency’s Twitter page.
“The success of the mission will provide us with additional opportunities that will benefit the entire international program.”
Since the US shuttle program was put on hold in 2011, the more basic and reliable Soyuz spacecraft has been solely responsible for transporting crews to the ISS from its Baikonur launch pad in Kazakhstan.
Amidst tensions between Russia and Western countries in recent years, the ISS is a rare example of international cooperation that has not been suspended.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
