FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY: RT AND ROSCOSMOS TO HOLD LIVE Q&A SESSION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ON THREE CONTINENTS

MOSCOW, JUNE 25, 2024 – In collaboration with the Russian Space agency Roscosmos, RT is launching a unique international project – ‘Starbound’. For the first time in history, people from three continents – South America, Eurasia, and Africa – will have the opportunity to pose questions directly to Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The audience will be offered five episodes of the project, each dedicated to one of the core BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The show premieres on RT on June 27, with the first episode featuring India. 

The project’s episodes will be available on RT’s TV broadcast and websites in all of RT’s broadcast languages – https://www.rt.com/. 

Viewers will be able to connect with the cosmonauts via a live teleconference and will also learn about space projects and developments, see exclusive footage from the ISS, and hear stories of famous space enthusiasts in BRICS countries. 

“The ‘Starbound’ project is our joint contribution to bringing space closer to people. Being in orbit, a cosmonaut gets a unique opportunity to see our planet from afar, to understand how beautiful and fragile it is, and that it is our shared home that needs to be protected. I am confident that during interactions with people from various countries, the Russian ISS crew members will not only talk about their work but will also help humanity learn to love the place we all live in – planet Earth,” said Yury Borisov, head of Roscosmos. 

In the first episode, questions from Indians will be answered by the Russian cosmonaut on the ISS, Oleg Kononenko, who holds the world record for total time spent in orbit. The first Indian cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union Rakesh Sharma, will also ask a question. Additionally, the first episode will cover Soviet and Russian Space projects and co-operation with India. 

“When we go up there and have a look down at Earth, you don’t see the borders. And you see how all of our destinies really are interconnected. From a human perspective, it doesn’t make sense to go thousands of kilometers and say that I’m from America. You are from planet Earth. So start thinking. Not nationally, but globally,” said Rakesh Sharma. 

The live broadcast with the ISS will be moderated by an RT host from the channel’s studio in Moscow, along with Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, who recently completed his mission and returned to Earth. 

Anyone can send questions for the ISS cosmonauts to the email address: [email protected]. The authors of the most unusual and interesting questions will receive prizes, including the grand prize – a trip to the Vostochny Cosmodrome to witness a rocket launch firsthand. 

In 2016, RT became the first media outlet in the world to ‘send’ viewers to space by showing unique panoramic footage of Earth taken aboard the ISS in collaboration with Roscosmos and Energia Rocket and Space Corporation. In 2018, the first-ever panoramic video shot in open space, SPACEWALK 360, won the prestigious Shorty Awards. 

With its first international channel launched in 2005, RT is now a global TV news network providing current affairs coverage, breaking stories and documentaries in nine languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, German, Serbian, Chinese, Hindi and Russian. Its sister multimedia news agency RUPTLY provides livestreaming, video on demand, archive footage and broadcast services. RT is available in Chinese on popular Chinese social media platforms – Weibo, Bilibili, and Douyin, and is also present on social networks in Hindi. RT is now available to more than 800 million TV viewers in more than 100 countries around the globe.