starship-design: Russia mulls mothballing space station

["L. Parker" <lparker@cacaphony.net>]

Russia mulls mothballing space station
Thursday, September 26, 2002 Posted: 2:31 PM EDT (1831 GMT)


MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Manned missions to the international space station may
have to be suspended because Russia cannot afford to build new craft to
carry crews there, a Russian space official said Thursday.

"The situation is desperate," Valery Ryumin, director of the Russian section
of the ISS, said by telephone.

Ryumin, also a top designer for rocket-builder Energiya -- which supplies
the Soyuz craft -- said the company had no money beyond next year to build
the vehicles.

"It takes two years to build the spaceship. Unless we place an order today,
we will have nothing to fly on in 2004," he said.

A key member of the 16-nation space station program, Russia has undertaken
to provide Soyuz capsules.

Designed to carry three people, they remain docked to the orbiting outpost
for months at a time and can be used for emergency rescues. It is intended
for use on a single mission.

Ryumin said that without Soyuz, U.S. crews would not be able to use the
space station as their shuttle craft were designed to remain at the station
for a maximum of three weeks.

The U.S. program also had no alternative provision for rescue missions.

"That is why the issue has been raised of suspending permanent manned
missions at the station," he said.

Ryumin said he had sent a letter to his U.S. counterpart explaining Russia's
concerns. He suggested that the publicity given to Russia's financial
difficulties might prompt the government to stump up more funds.

"Perhaps the government will choose to avoid an international scandal," he
said. "But I will tell you frankly that I have almost given up hope."


Once I knew where I was going, but now I have  forgotten.  Sometimes my mind
wanders.  Sometimes it goes alone, and other times it takes me along...this
isn't one of those times...