>I agree.<br /><br />Thanks. With all the aerospace consolidation, I'm almost expecting Boeing to merge with Energia and Lockmart to join with Krunichev, minus ITAR nastiness. It could be a big win vs Airbus, Ariane and Long March. Stranger mergers have happened...<br /><br />Here's a biz plan for the MarsPost: a company like SeaLaunch (as a subsidiary) purchases a MarsPost spacecraft from Energia, puts 3 of it's own crew and 3 national-agency astronaut mission specialists (US or otherwise) on a mars orbiter mission. The crew on arrival spends time maintaining the ship and doing commercial teleops, the mission specialists perform experiments and teleops. If time allows, there is extensive Phobos exploration. After 2 years, they use the MarsPost to return or use a lighter return vessel and leave the Post at Mars.<br /><br />US and Russia make natural aerospace partners, for many of the same reasons that inspired the Cold War.<br /><br />josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>