RBAF officers to join Russia’s space mission

Moscow : Director of the Russian Space Corporation (Roscosmos), Igor Komarov, has welcomed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s call for officers of the Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) to take part in the rehabilitation programme of the space trip to be organised along with Russian astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

Roscosmos chief was speaking while receiving the Bahraini Ambassador to Russia, Dr Ahmed Abdulrahman Al-Saati.

The joint space trip is within the framework of cooperation between the two friendly countries.

Komarov said that the Russian leadership had given directives to enhance cooperation with Bahrain in the field of space, particularly after HM King Hamad’s successful visit to the Army-2016 international military forum, held in Moscow in 2016, and the signing of an agreement on military and technical cooperation between the two countries.

He asserted that Roscosmos will sign a cooperation agreement with Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency (NSSA), on the sidelines of Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) in November, noting that under the agreement, Russia will provide technical support for Bahrain in the field of space sciences.

The agreement also stipulates that NSSA and Roscosmos will exchange information and visits.

Roscosmos director told the ambassador that the Kingdom of Bahrain had been invited to attend the launch of the new space shuttle to ISS in March.

He expressed optimism that Bahraini-Russian space cooperation will benefit many civil sectors.