Perminov: Chinese Flights to ISS Possible After Space Shuttle is Retired

A taikonaut emerges from China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft after a successful orbital flight

There’s more from RIA Novosti about a proposal to have Chinese Shenzhou spacecraft back up Russian spacecraft that will be supplying the International Space Station with crew and cargo. It quotes Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov as saying that Chinese vehicles meet all existing safety requirements to backup Soyuz and Progress spacecraft.

According to him, the Chinese can support the program after shuttle retirement in 2011, when Russia remains the only country to maintain ISS crew rotation.

“This is rather tough, so Russia is interested in backup Chinese vehicles”, Perminov said.

Perminov repeated an earlier claim that the five space agencies that run the station are awaiting an answer from China on this proposal. He adds an interesting detail: the head of the China Space Administration has left his post with no successor in place, which is part of the reason there has been no response.

NASA has issued a statement saying that China has not been formally asked to join the 15-nation program. However, officials said that discussions were taking place about joint space efforts. ESA Director-General Jean-Jacques Dordain has publicly backed bringing China, South Korea and India into the ISS effort as partners. Presidential Science Adviser John Holdren has spoken about the possibility of U.S. astronauts flying to ISS aboard Shenzhou vehicles.

Chinese involvement could free up seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles for additional space tourists to visit the orbiting outpost. It would also give NASA additional options for flying its astronauts to ISS. Under the current contract with Russia, NASA will pay about $55 million per seat.