The leaders of the space agencies taking part in the
International Space Station program, including NASA, the
Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA),
National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the
Russian Aviation and Space Agency (Rosaviakosmos), met today
at ESA’s Headquarters in Paris to discuss the status of the
space station program.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the international partners
reaffirmed their commitment to working together on the
development, assembly and use of the orbiting laboratory for
scientific and applied research. In particular, the partners
noted the tremendous achievements that have already been
accomplished through their cooperation on the International
Space Station, which has so far been assembled with nearly
flawless precision.
During their meeting the international partners discussed and
agreed upon a timeline for next steps to assure that the
space station can be assembled and operated in a way that
meets its unique world-class research objectives, while not
compromising the basic requirements of sound system
engineering and safety.
