NASA's leader has dismissed concerns that U.S. friction with Russia might spell the end of the International Space Station, saying it could keep operating without Russia.
The Russian government last week said it wouldn't cooperate with America on the project beyond 2020. That warning followed the United States' imposition of sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said Monday that the space station is run jointly by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada, and no single partner could terminate the project.
Bolden told reporters in Berlin that, even if Russia withdrew, no participating nation "is indispensable on the International Space Station."
Bolden says NASA expects private companies to start transporting astronauts to the space station by 2017.
In an image from video provided by NASA, the SpaceX commercial cargo ship Dragon prepares to leave the International Space Station on Sunday, May 18, 2014. The Dragon capsule was bringing back 3,500 pounds of gear, with splashdown planned in the Pacific Ocean, about 300 miles offshore from Mexico's Baja California peninsula. It's the only supply ship capable of safely returning items. The astronauts released it using the International Space Station's big robot arm. (AP Photo/NASA)Explore further: NASA cuts ties with Russia except on space station (Update)
Source : http://phys.org/news319727928.html
