MOSCOW (AP) - Russian
President Vladimir Putin chatted Wednesday with the U.S.-Russian
crew on the International Space Station via a televised hookup marking the 45th anniversary
of Yuri Gagarin's flight to space, wishing them a successful mission and
hailing international cooperation in the cosmos.
"It is a pleasure to see
that representatives of Russia and the United States are working together on
the same platform, the International Space Station,'' Putin told Russian
cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov and U.S. astronaut Jeff Williams as Russia marked
Cosmonauts Day, marking Gagarin's pioneering orbit around the Earth on April
12, 1961.
Putin asked Williams
through an interpreter how the Russian Soyuz spacecraft compares to the U.S.
shuttle.
Williams answered him in
Russian, saying he liked both ships.
"Soyuz is a very good ship,
but flying the shuttle, of course, is also very interesting,'' Williams said. "They
complement each other.''
The American space program
has depended on the Russians for cargo and astronaut delivery since the
February 2003 Columbia disaster
grounded the shuttle fleet. The shuttle Discovery visited the station last July but problems with the
external
fuel tank's foam insulation have cast doubt on when shuttles might return
to flight.
Vinogradov thanked Putin on
behalf of the crew, saying his support for the space research was very
important. "It's important not only for us cosmonauts, but for scientists and
experts as well,'' he said.
Vinogradov jokingly invited
Putin to visit the station.
"I would like to invite
Vladimir Vladimirovich to visit us. He has been out to sea in a submarine, has
learned how to operate strategic aircraft and feels at home in the Su-27
fighter,'' Vinogradov said in reference to Putin taking the co-pilot seats in a
Su-27 fighter and a Tu-160 strategic bomber and watching naval maneuvers from a
nuclear submarine.
"Maybe during vacation,''
Putin answered.
Vinogradov and Williams arrived
at the station on April 1 together with Brazil's first astronaut, Marcos
Pontes, who spent a week in orbit and returned
to Earth on Sunday with the station's previous crew, Russian Valery Tokarev and
American Bill McArthur.
Putin also spoke with
Pontes, Tokarev and McArthur via a televised hookup with the Star City
cosmonauts' training center, where they are undergoing post-flight
rehabilitation. He congratulated the Brazilian on his mission.
"That was a big even not
only for Brazil, but for the entire space community,'' Putin said. "Another
powerful nation has joined the countries exploring space, and it will bring a
significant contribution to common efforts.''
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