Fwd: State Department softens stance on NASA-Russia cooperation

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: April 11, 2014 2:22:31 PM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: State Department softens stance on NASA-Russia cooperation

 

 

April 11, 2014 13:52

U.S. Department of State softens stance on NASA-Russia cooperation - Roscosmos

MOSCOW. April 11 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is not stopping dialogue with its U.S. partners and the position of the U.S. Department of State on cooperation with Russia has softened, Roscosmos Deputy Director Sergei Savelyev said.

"We are not halting dialogue with NASA. At the beginning of this week, a NASA official said during contacts with us that the position of the Department of State had softened," Savelyev told reporters in Moscow on Friday.

He recalled that NASA last week issued an internal regulation restricting its interaction with Russia, with the exception of the ISS. "We have such information," Savelyev said.

av cm

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US State Department's stance over Russia-NASA collaboration "significantly moderated"

April 11, 15:32 UTC+4
"It is possible to work almost in all fields of cooperation between our agencies," deputy head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos stated

 

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© ITAR-TASS/ЕРА/JOEL KOWSKY

MOSCOW, April 11. /ITAR-TASS/. The stance of US State Department regarding cooperation of NASA with Russia "has significantly moderated", deputy head of Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos Sergei Savelyev stated.

"Sanctions were rather of a declarative nature," said the Roscosmos official. "International projects were not damaged in any way," he stressed.

The Roscosmos official added that the dialogue with partners from NASA at the level of top management was not suspended. "It is possible to work almost in all fields of cooperation between our agencies," Savelyev added.

 

NASA suspends cooperation with Russia

NASA announces it suspends cooperation with Russia

April 3, NASA announced that it suspended cooperation with Russia except within the International Space Station (ISS) program. The agency specified that such a decision was made in connection with Russia's actions towards Ukraine.

According to a NASA's memo, "ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity" prompted the agency to halt contacts with Russia. The statement also said that NASA intended to complete own piloted spaceship project as soon as possible and to get rid of "dependence of Russia" in launching American astronauts to the ISS. The agency added that in case of relevant budget funding such a spaceship could be constructed in 2017. If the Congress does not allocate the necessary funds, the USA "would be further transferring millions of dollars to Russia", NASA stated.

 

Decision to suspend cooperation with Russia causes bewilderment in NASA

State Department denies instructions to suspend cooperation with Roscosmos

April 4, the US State Department has dismissed reports saying that it had instructed NASA and other agencies to suspend cooperation with Russia.

"I know that there were mistaken statements yesterday that the Department of State called NASA to stop cooperation with Russia. Though I like to make orders to NASA, our department didn't make such order," Marie Harf, representative of the Department of State, said.

In addition, the statement about suspending cooperation between NASA and Roscosmos caused criticism from a number of NASA experts. In their point of view, such a decision may negatively impact the national space program and the ISS project.

 

ISS cooperation between Roscosmos and NASA

Six people are on space duty onboard the International Space Station. Together with Mikhail Tyurin, Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev of Russia, the international crew includes Richard Mastracchio and Steven Swanson of NASA and their Japanese colleague Koichi Wakata.

Partnership within this program is run on equal conditions: one of the station's key segments is deemed Russian, and the other one – American. Some modules and details were made by European Space Agency, as well as by space agencies of Canada and Japan.

NASA and US-based commercial companies have signed contracts related to the ISS project for billions of dollars. In particular, the long-term agreements provide for usage of Dragon and Cygnus cargo spacecraft for delivering water, foodstuff, equipment and experimental material to the ISS. Recently NASA announced that it planned to prolong the participation in the ISS project until 2024.

 

 

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NASA Continues Cooperation with Russian Space Agency

NASA Continues Cooperation with Russian Space Agency

© flickr.com/ Bernt Rostad

15:27 11/04/2014

 

MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) – NASA is continuing administrative talks with the Russian space agency Roscosmos as Washington's position on cooperation in space with Moscow has softened, the deputy head of Roscosmos said Friday.

"We may again cooperate," Sergei Savelyev said in a video on Friday at a conference devoted to the 53rd anniversary of Yury Gagarin's historic first manned spaceflight.

Savelyev added that NASA's earlier decision to freeze contacts with Russia had not caused any harm to either side.

Last week, NASA announced that amid tensions over Ukraine it would halt cooperation with Russia, excluding collaboration on the International Space Station.

"Given Russia's ongoing violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, NASA is suspending the majority of its ongoing engagements with the Russian Federation," the agency said.

The statement was followed by a clarification from the US State Department, saying it did not call upon NASA to suspend its contacts with Russia as it does not give orders to the agency.

Many NASA officials expressed displeasure with the decision, noting that scientific cooperation should not be politicized.

The easing of NASA's position on Russia came as the agency encouraged the participation of US scientists at an upcoming international space research conference in Moscow this summer.

A letter, published on the website of the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), said that both the US Academy of Sciences and NASA had supported not only exempting the meeting from the recent NASA sanctions against Russia, but encouraging US space scientists to attend.

 

NASA to Encourage US Scientists to Attend Space Conference in Moscow

NASA to Encourage US Scientists to Attend Space Conference in Moscow

© flickr.com/ Bernt Rostad

13:39 11/04/2014

 

MOSCOW, April 11 (RIA Novosti) - NASA will encourage the participation of US scientists at an upcoming international space research conference this summer in Moscow, despite recently curbing cooperation with Russia, according to a letter published by the group organizing the meeting.

The US representative to the Assembly of the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) sent a letter to the organization announcing NASA's support for the conference.

The letter, published on COSPAR's website, said that both the US Academy of Sciences and NASA had supported not only exempting the meeting from recent NASA sanctions against Russia, but encouraging US space scientists to attend.

NASA recently announced the suspension of cooperation with Russia on a number of projects due to the situation in Ukraine, excepting work on the International Space Station (ISS). Many NASA officials expressed displeasure with the decision, noting that scientific cooperation should not be politicized.

COSPAR holds a biannual assembly for scientists to present the most important results of space research, and discuss related issues. The committee develops standards and regulations in the field of space activities, in particular, interplanetary biological safety rules designed to prevent contamination of other celestial bodies with terrestrial microorganisms.

The first assembly was held in St. Petersburg in 1970, with COSPAR coming back to Russia in August this year, to be hosted at Moscow State University.

Earlier this week, the US Department of Energy allegedly banned its scientists from traveling to Russia and blocked access for Russian scientists to its major physics research centers.

While no official statement has been made by the American side, the Russian Education Ministry demanded clarification as the move would be a serious step back in academic cooperation that has proven beneficial to both countries.

© 2014 RIA Novosti

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