U.S.-Russian cooperation in space abides despite tensions over Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Cosmonauts of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Pyotr Dubrov, Oleg Novitskiy and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei pose for a picture during a training session ahead of their expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) in Star City, Russia March 20, 2021. Andrey Shelepin/GCTC/Russian space agency Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo

(Reuters) - The longstanding collaboration between the United States and Russia in operating the International Space Station (ISS) appears to be on solid footing even as tensions between the two countries build over the Ukraine crisis.

Some seven weeks after the Biden administration pledged its commitment to keeping ISS operational through 2030, NASA is still in talks with Roscosmos, its Russian counterpart, on a new "crew exchange" deal. Under such an agreement, the two former space rivals would routinely share flights to the station on each other's spacecrafts, the U.S. space agency said on Wednesday.