Upon learning that Abe Space Agency was about to reach a 10 billion US Dollar space cooperation deal with China, NACA was broken, and so was the Russia Space Agency.
Abe had always been known as a super wealthy oil magnate, and their wealth was like leeks on steroids: you could reap it over and over again.
The launch section of the ISS International Space Station was managed by America and Russia, and over time it was opened up to all nations except China.
Abe was naturally among those nations, paying quite a sum to have their astronauts trained in Russia, then taking a tour around the ISS Space Station.
Any scientific research purposes were non-existent, and Abe was well aware they didn't have the wherewithal for it.
But even oil tycoons have their pride, and having someone from Abe floating 300 kilometers above Earth's surface was indeed something to boost their national pride.
