Sat, Aug 30, 2003
Hints It Would Really Like A Few Bucks For The Effort
The Russian Space
Agency Friday morning sent a Progress resupply ship into orbit for
rendezvous with the International Space Station Alpha-One. At the
same time, Russian space officials hinted with all the subtlety of
a non-precision air strike that they'd sure like to be reimbursed
for the costs of carrying the ISS program alone while NASA space
shuttles are grounded.
The 5:48 a.m. (Moscow Time) launch of the Progress M-48 mission
from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Friday was described by
observers as "picture perfect." It carries food, water, videos and
even a satellite phone ("Hello operator? This is really long
distance") to crew members Yuri Malenchenko of Russia and Ed Lu of
the United States. It's also carrying equipment for experiments
that will be conducted when the next crew boards the ISS in
October.
About That Sat Phone, All Kidding Aside
Malenchenko and Lu will return to Earth aboard a Russian Soyuz
capsule. You might remember the last time that happened in a
first-ever launch for the latest in Russia's venerable line of
orbiting vehicles. It landed off target. Way off target. Hundreds
of miles off target. It actually took quite a bit of time for
Recovery crews to find the capsule and its occupants in the vast,
sparsely-inhabited plains of Siberia. So, keeping in mind that
cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn always kept his feathers numbered
"for just such an emergency," the sat phone will be handy in case
this recovery mission needs a few directions. Well, it's better
than borrowing change for a payphone, right?
Speaking Of Loose Change...
"This is becoming a
very costly business for Russia," Yuri Semyonov, head of RKK
Energia that leads Russia's participation in the ISS, told the
Reuters news service in Baikonur. "We will try to reach an
agreement with the Americans, but there are annoying legal
hiccups," he said without elaborating. "Today, we are trying to
convey this problem to Russian President Vladimir Putin and
President Bush. We do hope to find their understanding." Russia's
space program, along with its military spending, have been deeply
affected by the ongoing budget crunch in the former Soviet state.
Since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry,
Russia has been carrying the ISS program all by itself.
(Well, don't look at us. We're all a bunch of broke
journalists here)
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