MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - The successful launch of NASA's Discovery space shuttle means the possible completion of the International Space Station (ISS), Deputy Head of the Russian Space Agency Nikolai Moiseyev said.
"The successful launch puts the ISS project back on track," Moiseyev told a news conference Wednesday.
He said that due to a long break in NASA's space shuttle program, ISS construction had almost come to a standstill.
"Our European and Japanese partners were very nervous. They had built ISS modules a long time ago and only now there is the possibility of finishing the ISS construction," Moiseyev said. "As partners in the project we are obviously interested in its success. We would like to see it realize its full potential, working with a crew of six astronauts at a time."
The shuttle program shutdown after the 2003 Columbia disaster placed a heavy burden on Russia. Russian Soyuz spacecraft and Progress cargo carriers have been the only way to get crews and supplies to the ISS.
ISS crewmembers and short-term missions on board had been reduced to the minimum number necessary to maintain the station.
The permanent crew currently includes a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut.
