Behind the Black by Robert Zimmerman 8/1/2025
A string of short articles in Russia’s state-run press today, describing the meetings between the head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Bakanov, and interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy, suggest strongly that Russia is desperate to link itself with someone in order to continue its generally bankrupt space program.
Bakanov is making his first visit to the U.S. He and Duffy are also conducting the first face-to-face talks by the heads of their respective agencies in eight years. While the U.S. press has been entirely uninterested in these discussions, mostly because it knows little of substance will come of them other than an agreement to maintain the partnership at ISS through its planned retirement in 2030, the reaction by Russia’s press has been remarkably fawning, repeatedly proposing the U.S. and Russia expand their partnership beyond ISS:
• Russia, US unwilling to waste achievements of 50-year-long space cooperation — Roscosmos
• Roscosmos invites NASA to cooperate on projects outside scope of sanctions
• NASA, Roscosmos heads discuss cooperation in exploration of Moon, deep space
• Roscosmos chief expects acting NASA director to visit Moscow to continue dialogue
Very clearly, Bakanov was trying to convince Duffy to consider a greater partnership, whereby Roscosmos and NASA do other space projects together. He might have even been offering to join NASA’s Artemis program to explore the Moon.
More:
https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/russia-desperately-lobbies-the-u-s-to-continue-and-expand-its-space-partnership/
