Deputy Chairman of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) Volodymyr Mikheiev is in the USA. He met with NASA administrator Bill Nelson and signed a statement with him on cooperation in space exploration.
Negotiations between SSAU and NASA
On Friday, April 21, the State Space Agency of Ukraine announced that its Deputy Chairman Volodymyr Mikheiev was in the United States on a visit and had already met with NASA administrator Bill Nelson. The main outcome of their negotiations was the signing of a joint statement on cooperation in the field of space exploration.
“Another positive result we have in the inspiring sphere is Space. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Chairman of the SSAU Volodymyr Mikheiev, who is in Washington as part of the Ukrainian delegation to participate in the meeting of the Ukrainian-American working group on nonproliferation and export control, together with Deputy Minister of Economy Ihor Fomenko, have taken another step towards new opportunities for the rocket and space industry of Ukraine and the expansion of cooperation between Ukraine and the United States in the fields of peaceful space, communications and navigation, as well as International Space Station projects and many other areas,” Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova wrote on Facebook.
What exactly the statement contains and whether it is part of some broader statement has not yet been reported. Perhaps the details will appear over time. So far, only one thing can be said: we are not talking about an agreement, but about a statement, that is, a declarative document.
In addition, it is worth paying attention to the fact that NASA is a completely civilian organization, so possible talk that this document will entail additional military assistance is speculation. And the text clearly states that it is not even about mastering, but only about research.
Landmark event for both agencies
Business at the SSAU in the last year was not very good. The agency’s past leadership could neither fulfill the promises it made before the large-scale invasion, nor distinguish itself by any initiatives after it began.
Therefore, the chairman of the SSAU, Volodymyr Taftai, received a negative assessment of his activities and was subsequently dismissed. Volodymyr Ben was appointed to carry out his duties, but there is still no official chairman of the main space structure of Ukraine.
On the other hand, the situation at NASA in connection with Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine is also ambiguous. Despite all the statements about the support of our people, the American agency has not taken decisive steps to stop cooperation with the aggressor state.
On the contrary, the agency’s employees and Nelson personally made every effort to continue this cooperation. For both organizations, this statement is an opportunity to somehow get out of the situation in which they have been for a year.
According to www.nkau.gov.ua.
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