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NASA officially postponed the visit of the chief of Russia’s space agency, Roscomos, due to Congressional pressure. Dmitry Rogozin was scheduled to visit Houston in February of this year. The two space agencies have cooperated in the last few decades, most visibly in the maintenance and use of the International Space Station, or ISS.
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“NASA has informed the Russian space agency, Roskosmos, that [Rogozin’s visit] currently planned for February 2019 will need to be postponed,” NASA spokeswoman Megan Powers said in a statement on January 4, reported RFERL. Powers said a new date for a visit to NASA’s headquarters in Houston “has not been identified.” Rogozin had also been scheduled to speak at nearby Rice University.
“Planning for a potential visit by the Director-General [of Roscomos Dmitry Rogozin] is still underway,” said Powers, quoted Russian state news agency TASS, earlier in the week.
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“The U.S./Russian relationship in space dates back to the 1970s,” she stressed. “NASA has historically invited the head of the Russian space agency to visit the United States. Following this precedent, and Administrator Bridenstine’s October visit to Russia to participate in crew launch activities to the International Space Station, NASA invited the Director-General of Roscosmos to visit NASA facilities in the United States and discuss our ongoing space-related cooperation.”
