Official Transcripts
Transcript of the video message from the joint American and Russian International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 15 crew
International Space Station & Spaso House, Moscow
October 03, 2007
Fyodor Yurchikhin (in Russian):
Greetings from the International Space Station. I am Fyodor Yurchikhin, Commander of the International Space Station, along with my crewmates, Flight Engineer Clay Anderson and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov.
We are honored to join you this evening in celebrating two hundred years of diplomatic relations between our great countries and to commemorate the special and significant role that space cooperation has played in that relationship.
Clay Anderson (in English):
I'm Clay Anderson, Expedition 15 Flight Engineer. My special greetings to this evening's hosts, Ambassador William Burns and NASA Administrator Mike Griffin, with an additional welcome to Roscosmos Head Anatolii Perminov.
It is appropriate that we are greeting you tonight as one integrated American and Russian Space Station crew. The level of cooperation and trust that is required to make this program work successfully is truly amazing. What better example to set for the citizens of our countries and the world about what is possible if we work together in a spirit of cooperation, partnership, and friendship. From those of us who are privileged to be part of this great endeavor, we extend our warmest wishes to you as we celebrate this important milestone between our two nations.
Oleg Kotov (in Russian):
I am Oleg Kotov, Expedition 15 Flight Engineer. Those of us who are engineers and scientists tend to look at the International Space Station as a technical, engineering, and scientific challenge. But we realize that the International Space Station could not have been built without the concerted efforts of many government officials and diplomats in both countries. An event such as tonight's reception allows us all to consider our technical accomplishments within the larger context of the relations between our countries. We look forward to building on the success of this project and working together on other such undertakings in the future