August 13, 2008
Will Growing Russian/American Tension Affect ISS?
US, allies weigh punishment for Russia, AP
"Scrambling to find ways to punish Russia for its invasion of pro-Western Georgia, the United States and its allies are considering expelling Moscow from an exclusive club of wealthy nations and canceling an upcoming joint NATO-Russia military exercise, Bush administration officials said Tuesday."
Russia May Turn Focus to Pro-U.S. Ukraine After Beating Georgia, Bloomberg
"Now that Russia has humiliated Georgia with a punishing military offensive, it may shift its attention to reining in pro-Western Ukraine, another American ally in the former Soviet Union."
Russian invasion threatens the Space Station, Orlando Sentinel
"U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., acknowledged Tuesday that Russia’s five-day invasion of the Georgian province of South Ossetia makes it extremely unlikely that Congress will vote to exempt the Russian-built Soyuz capsule from a law that bans trade with nations that sell nuclear material to Iran. NASA had been counting on the waiver to enable it to continue carrying people and cargo to the space station after the space shuttle is retired in 2010. The Soyuz is NASA’s only proven alternative to get to the station."
Editor's note: Right now Russians outnumber Americans on ISS - but wait, one of the "Russians" (the ISS Commander) was actually born in the Ukraine ... things could get complicated if Ukraine continues to openly side with Georgia and all of the political tension spills into how the ISS program is run ...
Posted by kcowing at August 13, 2008 8:40 AM
The ISS Commander was born in Ukraine but is a Russian citizen. Are you fearing that Shannon Lucid might side with China ?
Posted by: jassifun at August 13, 2008 7:13 AMRussia and the U.S. are docked at the hips on the ISS. If either is denied access, the whole thing (including each country's financial investment) goes down. The Russians cannot operate the station without the U.S. because we provide/maintain the power, CMGs, etc. The U.S. cannot operate the station without the Russians because they provide the transportation system and lifeboat capability (even if we keep the shuttle going, the Soyuz lifeboat is still needed). Also, it's unlikely the Russians would also incur the wrath of the Europeans, Canadians and Japanese by threating the station's existence.
Posted by: Eric Fischer at August 13, 2008 12:12 PMWho would you rather put your faith in: US enterprise al la COTS type programs, or the Russians learning to play nice?
I put my vote firmly with US enterprise...
Posted by: Stardust-516 at August 13, 2008 12:59 PMU.S. Astronauts are presently banned from flying Soyuz anyway pending resolution of pyrotechnic bolt failures that haved caused ballistic reentry and crash landings on two recent back-to-back Soyuz flights with injuries sustained by the crew on at least one.
No more than Iranian tensions made us stop depending on their oil.
Posted by: x at August 13, 2008 1:11 PMI doubt the crew of the ISS are heard in matters of international security policy...
Posted by: Anders Feder at August 13, 2008 3:02 PMIt is an embarrassment that we have Russia holding us hostage with Soyuz for supporting the ISS. The I in ISS should be removed. Most of the blood, sweat, and tears came from the good old USA. If Congress had actually funded Space Station Freedom we would not be in this mess and the station would have been completed by now. Constellation is going down the same path. International partnerships are a joke. They complicate the system with agreements that are based on the political winds and not in reality. Russia has never fully embraced democratic ideals so why should we be surprised now?
Posted by: spacedout at August 13, 2008 9:03 PMperhaps it would be possible to buy the russians out?
usa, europe and japan should run the iss alone.
put a crewed jules verne capsule on fast track & get rid of soyuz?
konec filma !
Posted by: hotrenor at August 14, 2008 11:09 PM