Фото: НАН Беларуси
Belarus is considering the possibility of having one of its cosmonauts take part in a long-duration space mission. This was stated by Ivan Bucha, deputy head of the aerospace activities department at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, at the first Russian Space Forum in Moscow, held to mark the 65th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin‘s flight, BelTA reported.
“We are ready and are thinking about how to continue cooperation in the field of crewed spaceflight. But we believe that a short flight would most likely no longer be entirely appropriate. A more proper approach would be a professional cosmonaut, lengthy preparation periods, and participation in crewed programmes in a completely different way. But this is a prospect we believe in, and we will make every effort to ensure that it happens,” he said.
According to him, in Soviet times Belarusian specialists took an active part in all of the USSR’s space programmes, and Belarus now also has certain competencies in the space sector.
“This includes Earth remote sensing equipment from space, electronic optics, new materials, and space electronics,” the NAS representative said.
Photo- and video-spectral equipment made in Belarus is operating on the International Space Station, he noted.
Bucha recalled that two years ago, in cooperation with Roscosmos, the spaceflight of the first Belarusian cosmonaut, Maryna Vasileuskaya, took place.
“The flight showed that everything can be done through cooperation. The spacecraft crew consisted of representatives of three countries — Belarus, Russia and the United States. The flight demonstrated the unifying role of space and showed that crewed spaceflight is most effective within the framework of international cooperation. And the future of crewed spaceflight, in our view, lies in international cooperation and in joint actions and activities in this direction,” Bucha said.