There's a widely held belief in the space community that Congress has banned bilateral cooperation in spaceflight between NASA and its Chinese counterparts. In fact, the language in the so - called "Wolf Amendment" in NASA appropriations bills, named after former Rep. Frank Wolf, requires NASA to get congressional approval in advance for any cooperative activities. That's allowed some limited cooperation between NASA and China in areas like aeronautics and Earth science. Early this month, the two countries appeared to open the door for additional cooperation. Appearing onstage at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Bremen, Germany, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Zhang Kejian, administrator of the China National Space Administration, seemed willing to work together in space exploration. "I had a very good discussion with NASA Administrator Mr. Bridenstine for bilateral cooperation in this particular area," Zhang said, referring to a meeting earlier in the day with his American counterpart. "I think the response was very positive."
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