Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, on Tuesday praised the continued cooperation between Russia and the United States in space exploration, following the successful launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
According to Russia’s space agency, the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft was transporting Russian cosmonauts Sergei Ryzhikov and Alexei Zubritsky along with NASA astronaut Jonathan Kim. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at 09:04 GMT.
Dmitriev described Tuesday’s launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as a testament to the enduring US-Russia partnership in space, a relationship that dates back to 1975.
That year marked the first joint crewed international space mission between the two nations, when the U.S. Apollo spacecraft and the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft docked in orbit. The historic mission featured the first international handshake in space and served as a symbol of Cold War détente.
“Russian and US cooperation in the space industry continues today,” Dmitriev stated, sharing a video on his official Telegram channel showing the Soyuz rocket launch.
Despite tensions in other areas of diplomacy, the two nations have continued to collaborate in space missions, underscoring the importance of scientific partnerships beyond geopolitical rivalries.