FKA and NASA clarify the balance of contributions to ISS building

Russia's Federal Space Agency (FKA) and NASA of the US are currently holding talks to add precision to the earlier agreed partners' contributions to the construction of the International Space Station (ISS), Nikolai Moiseyev, FKA deputy head, said on Tuesday during an Internet news briefing.

"FKA and NASA are also negotiating the amount of compensations to be paid to the Russian side for additional services which go beyond the earlier approved deadlines concerning ISS construction, including for flights by American astronauts on Russian spacecraft in 2005," Moiseyev noted.

Replying to a question if the American Congress changed its stand on the purchase of Russian spacecraft with a view to partial replacement of grounded shuttles, Moiseyev answered: "Unfortunately, they have a legislative constraint on deliveries of Russian space equipment and it is still in effect. Its abolition was discussed first at the level of the space agencies, and foreign policy departments, and later of the presidents of the two countries."