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US-Russian Space Ties Immune To Presidential Electionby Guy Clavel Washington - March 23, 2000 - US-Russian cooperation in space is robust enough to survive any political uncertainty stemming from Russian presidential elections on March 26, according to experts. Once at the frontier of Cold War rivalry between Moscow and Washington, space exploration has for the past decade been transformed into a shared experience. US astronauts have been frequent Russian guests, living and working aboard the space station Mir while Russian cosmonauts have regularly joined the crew of US space shuttle missions. US and Russian space agencies have offices in each other's countries and share information routinely. Recent joint projects include Mars exploration, with Russia providing parts for the Mars Polar Lander. The key joint project remains the construction off the International Space Station, a huge program in which 16 nations are taking part. Russia's failure to meet deadlines has prompted friction and irritation, but nothing more serious than that, though NASA administrator Daniel Goldin had to resist pressure from some quarters in the US Congress to abandon cooperation with Russia. In the private sector, space cooperation is equally robust and able to survive political uncertainty. Boeing is closely working with Russian company Energuia to provide parts for the space station. The two firms are also the principal shareholders in Sea Launch, a commercial enterprise which in October last year successfully launched its first rocket from a platform floating in the Pacific. A second joint venture in the private sector, International Launch Services (ILS), is owned by Lockheed Martin, Energuia and Russian firm Khrunichev. The consortium was set up in 1995 and offers Lockheed Martin Atlas rockets and Proton rockets built by Krunichev for satellite launches. "I don't think that economic and political turmoil in Russia could impact Lockheed Martin's relationship with Khrunichev," said Len Dest, executive vice president of ILS. "Khrunichev built Protons in the Soviet era, during Perestroika, during transition to the Russian Federation, and they continue to build Protons. "Basically, Proton is the Khrunichev technology that is almost independent of the political scene here," he said. Another fruit of joint Russia-US efforts is the inaugural launch of Lockheed Martin latest rocket, the Atlas III, next month, powered by RD-180 engines built by Pratt and Whitney of the United States and Russia's NPO Energomash. The space shuttle program will certainly rise above politics, with a Russian cosmonaut scheduled for take-off aboard Atlantis next month, at least two weeks after the elections.
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