Russian space chief: no second-rank status with NASA's outpost

FILE In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin smiles at the annual report of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on the economic and social development of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, in Moscow, Russia. Rogozine said Saturday, September 22, 2018 that Russia would not accept a second-tier role in NASA's plan to build an outpost near the moon, but his spokesman quickly said that Russia remained in the project. (AP Photo / Pavel Golovkin, File)

MOSCOW – The head of the Russian Space Agency said on Saturday that it would not accept a second-tier role in NASA's plan to build an outpost near the moon, but Roscosmos spokesman quickly specified that Russia remained in the project.

Roscosmos leader Dmitry Rogozin, quoted by Russian news agencies, said Russia would not be reduced to a junior partner in the NASA-led project to build the lunar orbital platform called Gateway in the 2020s .

"I think Russia can not afford to participate in other countries' projects on second-tier roles," said Tchour.

He noted that Russia was working to develop heavy rockets that would allow it to build its own orbital platform near the moon, possibly in cooperation with some BRICS countries – a group including Brazil, China, the United States, and the United States. India and South Africa with Russia.

A few hours later, Roscosmos spokesman Vladimir Ustimenko said Rogozin did not mean Russia was giving up the NASA-led project.

"Russia has not refused to participate in the lunar orbital station project with the United States," Ustimenko said, quoted by Tass. He added that "we are in favor of an equal partnership type of cooperation".

Earlier this month, Rogozine expressed dismay that an air leak detected at the International Space Station was a borehole that occurred during manufacture or in orbit. He did not say he suspected the current crew of three Americans, two Russians and one German aboard the station.

Rogozin, who served as deputy prime minister for military and space affairs until May, had long been known for his impetuous style and anti-Western rhetoric. It has failed to stem the decline of Russian space industries, which have been hampered by launch failures and other problems.