The US State Department on Tuesday hailed US-Russian cooperation on the Sea Launch project in which US and foreign satellites are launched from international waters in the Pacific Ocean.
The US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, Robert Joseph, and Russian Ambassador Yuriy Ushakov signed an agreement Tuesday on technology safeguards associated with Sea Launch activities, the State Department said in a statement.
A Boeing-led consortium involving companies from Russia, Ukraine and Norway, has completed 19 launches under the program, beginning in 1999.
“Conclusion of this agreement highlights our ongoing bilateral partnership in this successful commercial endeavor and will facilitate Russian participation,” the State Department said in the statement.
“It also increases the potential for enhanced Russian participation and cooperation more generally in the sphere of commercial use of outer space for peaceful purposes.”
The statement said the agreement “underlines the positive outcome of international technical and programmatic collaboration.
“This agreement also attests to what Russia and the United States are capable of accomplishing together,” it added.
Source: Agence France-Presse
