Russia-Georgia Conflict to Imperil NASA's access to LEO?

[johns805]

Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Please read Wayne Hale's blog post of August 28th here :&nbsp;http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/waynehalesblog <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />Hi:&nbsp; Thanks for the suggestion!&nbsp; I appreciate all the points made by Mr. Hale and those who responded to them.&nbsp; Given the breaking developments with the U.S. economy, increasing terrorist activity in Pakistan, etc., I think there are lots of reasons to be discouraged.&nbsp;&nbsp; The Chinese&nbsp;will likely&nbsp;launch their third flight of taikonauts next week,&nbsp; Diplomacy by itself won't assure our national security.&nbsp; My logic says it's prudent to maintain access to any higher ground that&nbsp;a potential adversary can get to.&nbsp;&nbsp; In any case, one way or another we'll have to deal with whatever happens next.&nbsp;&nbsp; ~JBK

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p>SDC has a story today. The House is passing a bill to allow Soyuz and Progress purchases through 2016. The Senate version allows Soyuz past 2011, but cuts off Progress after 2011 to force purchase from other suppliers.</p><p>http://www.space.com/news/080923-congress-nasa-waiver.html</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[trailrider]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>SDC has a story today. The House is passing a bill to allow Soyuz and Progress purchases through 2016. The Senate version allows Soyuz past 2011, but cuts off Progress after 2011 to force purchase from other suppliers.http://www.space.com/news/080923-congress-nasa-waiver.html <br />Posted by MeteorWayne</DIV><br /><br />Hope the Progress funds can be restored in Conference committee!&nbsp; While "purchasing from another supplier" is a nice thought, there is only one other vehicle (Jules Verne) capable of unmanned rendezvous and docking capability, and so far they have only done it ONCE!&nbsp; Let's not, as Johnny Carson used to quip in one of his bits, "Take the Slosson Cutoff...and cut off your slosson!"</p><p>Ad LEO! Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra!</p>

 

[vulture4]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>To me at least it is incredibly short sighted and stupid for us to not even be able to fund NASA at the level of even 1% of the federal budget, when we could do so at an average of some 2% then!!&nbsp; Posted by frodo1008</DIV></p><p>At the time NASA was doing something of practical, albeit political, value, and I don't mean bringing back moon rocks. Kennedy was quite clear that the nonaligned countries were shifting toward the Soviet system, in part because of the political impact of its achievements in space. He believed the moon race would demonstrate the superoirity of our politcal and economic system. It was a sustitute for war. </p><p>Current talk about a new space race with China is naive and pointless by comparison, since we obviously do not have an ideological conflct with China. </p>

 

[trailrider]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Hope the Progress funds can be restored in Conference committee!" [Snip] Posted by trailrider</DIV></p><p>Just to update:&nbsp; Rather than attempting to pass the extension of the waiver in both houses and then iron out the differences in conference, they snuck it in by including it in the budget Continuing Resolution by just changing the date on the original waiver law to read July 2016.&nbsp; The CR, however, is only good until March or April 2009, so while the <em>waiver</em> is good until 2016, there is no guarrantee that the next Congress will appropriate the funds to pay for more Soyuz and Progress flights.&nbsp;Neither&nbsp;can Congress force a President to <em>spend</em> funds on anything.</p><p>The net result is that we have cleared one hurdle to keeping the ISS operational insofar as having Russian support through 2016, but are by no means out of the woods.&nbsp; And just because the U.S.&nbsp;<em>wants</em> to buy rides doesn't mean the Russians have to sell them to us, should U.S./Russian relations "go south"!</p><p>Time will tell...</p><p>Ad LEO! Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra!</p>

 

[JonClarke]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>And just because the U.S.&nbsp;wants to buy rides doesn't mean the Russians have to sell them to us, should U.S./Russian relations "go south"!Time will tell...Ad LEO! Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra! <br />Posted by trailrider</DIV></p><p>Since the Russians are fully committed to the ISS and fully recognise that the&nbsp; the US is required to&nbsp;keep it operational the chances of this are very, very small.&nbsp; I wish people would not torture themselves with such extreme unlikelihoods.</p><p>Jon<br /></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

<p>SDC article:</p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AP) - The ongoing global economic turmoil and increasingly strained ties between Moscow and Washington will not stand in the way of further space exploration, Russia's space agency chief said Saturday.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Roscosmos (Russia's Federal Space Agency) director Anatoly Perminov spoke on the eve of the launch of the International Space Station's next crew aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Soyuz rockets will be the only way for astronauts and cosmonauts to get to the space station after the U.S. space shuttle fleet is retired in 2010 &mdash; a fact that has greatly worried U.S. lawmakers. Some U.S. officials are wary about relying solely on the Russian program, given Moscow's increasingly assertive foreign policies.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">But Perminov said recent U.S. congressional decisions on future collaboration and the presence of U.S. astronauts at Baikonur showed that Washington has no desire to politicize the issue.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Congress earlier this month gave U.S. space agency NASA permission to purchase seats on the Soyuz after 2010.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">"Cooperation is first and foremost international and it cannot be said that space has any boundaries," Perminov said.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">He also said the current financial crisis battering Russia and global financial markets will not halt the Russian space program.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">NASA two years ago awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to build the Orion spacecraft to replace the space shuttles. The craft is expected to make its maiden flight by 2014.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Two Americans &mdash; software millionaire Richard Garriott and astronaut Michael Fincke &mdash; and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov are to blast off Sunday for the space station.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">The three travelers, joined by a backup crew, appeared relaxed at a pre-launch news conference held behind a glass screen to protect against any infections. Fincke downplayed any suggestions that political tension would have any bearing on the mission.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">"We know there are politics on the ground, but that does not affect our crew and it does not affect our space mission," Fincke said. "We are a symbol of what people can achieve by working together."</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">Garriott, the son of a former U.S. astronaut, reportedly paid $30 million to travel to the space station for 10 days. He said the space program has historically succeeded in overcoming diplomatic differences.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial">"Thirty years ago, during my father's time at NASA, Russian cosmonauts, scientists and engineers always got on wonderfully with their U.S. partners," he said.</span></p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[trailrider]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>Since the Russians are fully committed to the ISS and fully recognise that the&nbsp; the US is required to&nbsp;keep it operational the chances of this are very, very small.&nbsp; I wish people would not torture themselves with such extreme unlikelihoods.Jon <br />Posted by jonclarke</DIV></p><p>It is not a matter of "torturing" oneself.&nbsp; And so far as my concern being "an extreme unlikelihood" is concerned, I can only say that prior planning prevents a pretty pool performance (aka P^5).&nbsp; Let's hope that we Earthlings <em>can</em> continue to leave our politics back on Earth!</p><p>Ad LEO! Ad Luna! Ad Ares! Ad Astra!<br /></p>