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Senate Clears NASA to Buy Russian Spaceships
By Brian Berger
Space News Staff Writer
posted: 21 September 2005
3:55 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved Sept. 21 a bill that would clear the way for NASA to buy the Russian Soyuz vehicles it needs to continue to occupy the International Space Station beyond this year.
The bill was introduced Sept. 15 by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) to provide temporary relief from provisions in the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000 that bar U.S. purchases of Russian human spaceflight hardware as long as Russia continues to help Iran in its pursuit of nuclear know-how and advanced weapons technology.
Lugar’s bill, S. 1713, changes the law to permit NASA to buy any Russian space hardware or services it needs for the International Space Station program until 2012.
The bill was approved the morning of Sept. 21 by unanimous consent, a Senate procedure that allows non-controversial legislation to bypass a floor vote.
The U.S. House of Representatives also is considering amending the Iran Nonproliferation Act to permit NASA to buy Soyuz vehicles, but it has yet to take any legislative action.
The House could either pick up and pass the Senate’s bill or introduce a bill of its own that would have to be reconciled with the Senate version before becoming law.
Without relief from the Iran act, NASA could soon find itself unable to send its astronauts to the space station for extended stays. A Soyuz capsule set to carry a new two-person crew – and one space tourist – to the station Sept. 30 is the last one Russia is obligated to provide at no charge to the United States under a bilateral agreement.
NASA and the U.S. State Department formally asked Congress in June to amend the Iran act to permit the United States to make use of Russian space technology in its space exploration plans.
So now maybe we'll get somewhere quicker if NASA is cooperating with international space organizations. The space race is stupid in my opinion. We need to now work together not by country, but as a race or a world, to expand our space travel abilities. Good decision imo. Small, but important.
I don't understand why NASA can't develop that kind of technology themselves with the billions of dollars they're spending... What have they been working on for the past 10 years?
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thats great. now even the united states is buying rusted equipment from russia via disgruntled upper middle rank russian government officials. The pinaccle of civilization.
I don't really see a point to the space station. Its too large, too expensive and totaly useless. The only practical use for the ISS is for zero gravity experiments. In the original plan, it was also supposed to be a "launch platform" for inter-planetary travel, but lets face it by the time inter-planetary travel is a feasible option, the ISS will have crashed in the south pacific just like MIR. If my memory serves correctly, the ISS proposition came around about the time NASA was about to get a major budget cut and a huge global cooperation would be a reason to keep their budget and possibly have it expanded.
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Nuke (n): a large firework that makes pretty lights and large lakes out of annoying countries.
You have three choices, stand behind our troops, grab a gun and toe the line with our troops, or stand in front of them, they can use the extra armor.
thats great. now even the united states is buying rusted equipment from russia via disgruntled upper middle rank russian government officials. The pinaccle of civilization.
I don't really see a point to the space station. Its too large, too expensive and totaly useless. The only practical use for the ISS is for zero gravity experiments. In the original plan, it was also supposed to be a "launch platform" for inter-planetary travel, but lets face it by the time inter-planetary travel is a feasible option, the ISS will have crashed in the south pacific just like MIR. If my memory serves correctly, the ISS proposition came around about the time NASA was about to get a major budget cut and a huge global cooperation would be a reason to keep their budget and possibly have it expanded.
I'm still waiting for them to announce that research aboard the ISS has cured cancer or done SOMETHING. What research are they doing? They've already been up there for years haven't they? I think we need to concentrate more efforts on engine and perpetual life support technology, to make longer journeys possible.
The only reason we got into space in the first place is because of the cold war, without a feirce competitor i dont see to much happening in space travel, at least with the way our goverment is budgeting our finances ATM.
Look at all the technological advances that have come about in the last 100 years, many of them have been because or war.. without a real in your face reason, no ones going to do shit.
09-22-2005, 11:40 AM
What have they been working on for the past 10 years?
