RetroNews: NASA, Russian plan International Space Station
WASHINGTON: If Congress finds the money and Russia's shaky economy permits - two big ifs - an international space station may orbit earth in 2001 with a crew of six that could have come form the Starship Enterprise.
The language will be English or Russian with occasional Japanese, French, German, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish or Spanish. Its crew will answer to Mission Control in Houston or Kaliningrad, Russia.
An agreement to bring all this about was signed by NASA administrator Daniel Goldin, who announced it Thursday, and his Russian counterpart, Yuri N. Koptev.
As part of the agreement, the United States will make 10 shuttle flights to the Mir in 1995, 1996 and 1997 to test out various systems, and the Russians will supply a spacecraft to steer the station and maintain its altitude.
Goldin told reporters that NASA is through redesigning the sapce station, which has undergone half a dozen major downsizings since it was first put on the agenda in 1984.
"This is it," he said. "Give us approval nad we're going to build the space station."
Kopteve was asked whether Russia can be a reliable partner.
"In Russia, orbital stations have been operating for over 32 years," he said, speaking through an interpreter. "The Freedom project has been in the discussion stage for nine years."
The new station will be called neither Freedom nor Mir. It is tenatively called Alpha.
The agreement must be approved by a US Congress that came within one vote of killing the station project this year and carried out by Russia which has money troubles.
"Goldin has a vision which I admire and he's working closely with Vice President Gore who has a vision which I admire," said Rep George Brown, D-Calif,who heads the House Science, Space and Technology Committee.
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