Russian aerospace agency chief flies to U.S. to discuss ISS

Yuri Koptev, chief of the Russian Aerospace Agency, flew to the USA on Monday to discuss the prospects of construction and use of the International Space Station, or the ISS. He is attending a conference of officials from aerospace agencies of Russia, the USA, the European Union, Canada and Japan in Monterrey.

The conference will focus mainly on space flights to the ISS in 2004.

In the next year, according to the information of the Russian Aerospace Agency, six Russian spaceships will be flying to the ISS, including four cargo spacecraft and two manned ships. However, the number of the former may yet be raised to six if there is a delay in US shuttle flights.