Russia Viewed as Supplier to Space Program

With limited funding for space exploration, Bush Administration officials and lawmakers such as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) are looking to Russian technology to save money and expand the reach of the U.S. space program.

A group of NASA scientists is scheduled to arrive in Moscow this week to inspect a Soyuz TM space capsule to see if it could be used as a “lifeboat” to carry the crew of the planned Space Station Freedom back to Earth in an emergency.

And a House subcommittee is scheduled to convene hearings later this month on the possibility of appropriating a broad spectrum of Russian space know-how and technology--some of which is considered superior to existing U.S. equipment--for use in America’s space program.

Although some Administration officials say they have serious reservations about such proposals, citing both technical concerns and national security considerations, the concept is winning some unexpected converts.

“It’s clear to everybody that there’s going to be a crunch in terms of the dollars available for the space effort,” said Rohrabacher, a staunch conservative who opposed scientific cooperation with the Soviet Union but now favors such ventures with Russia. “One of the ways we can actually eliminate some of the items in our space budget and bring down the cost . . . is to work in cooperation with democratic Russia.”

Rohrabacher is a member of the House Science, Space and Technology subcommittee that will hold the March 25 hearing. Other congressional advocates of U.S.-Russian collaboration include Rep. Ralph M. Hall (D-Tex.), chairman of the space subcommittee, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), who heads the Senate Appropriations panel that funds NASA.

“I think we would be foolish not to take advantage of the current situation to get every benefit we can from Russian technology,” said Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Colton), chairman of the Science, Space and Technology Committee. Brown cautioned, however, that the United States “should not operate in such a way to create . . . jobs for Russian workers and cause American aerospace workers to lose their jobs.”

That is also a concern of officials at McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach, which manufactures the Delta rocket and has a major contract for work on the space station.

“These are definitely historic times, and I think it benefits us in industry to keep all options open,” said McDonnell Douglas spokesman Thomas E. Williams.

“However,” he added, “I would agree with Congressman Brown that our number one concern right now is American technology and American jobs in space. We have a lead and we would like certainly to keep that lead.”

Some Administration officials are voicing concerns about other aspects of U.S.-Russian cooperation.

“It isn’t clear whether the U.S. government ought to be doing anything to continue to maintain the (former) Soviet military space capability,” said one Administration official involved in space issues.

“If you start doing things to bolster or support the (Russian) civil space program, in a very direct way you’re beginning to support their military capability, and you have to decide if that is good or bad,” said the official, who requested anonymity. “The U.S. government is struggling with those questions.”

Not that some branches of the government aren’t interested.

The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization working on the “Star Wars” missile defense system is eyeing a smorgasbord of Russian space technology that could be put to good use in a combined missile shield.

The Russian items that SDIO would like to examine include a space-based nuclear power system, advanced liquid fuel rockets, an electric propulsion system and high-temperature electric switches, according to a report in Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine.

So far, requests to import such technology have been opposed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Donald Atwood, who, according to one Department of Defense official, wants the defense to “speak with one voice” on the issue of importing Russian space technology. A departmentwide review of the question is under way, the official said.

“DOD is moving from looking at these opportunities on a case-by-case basis into developing an overall policy,” the defense official said.

At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Soyuz capsule is not the only piece of Russian hardware of interest to scientists, but it is of the most immediate concern.

NASA’s $30-billion budget for Space Station Freedom, which is scheduled to be completed and capable of supporting a four-member crew by the year 2000, does not include specific funding for a space “lifeboat.”

NASA officials have estimated the cost of development at about $2 billion. Purchasing a ready-made Soyuz TM, which could rocket a crew back to Earth in an emergency, would substantially reduce that cost, proponents argue.

In the longer run, NASA officials and American rocket manufacturers are interested in the advanced Russian rocket engine known as the RD-170, which powers the Zenit rocket. Zenits are used as boosters on a massive Russian rocket known as the Energia, which can propel a payload of more than 200,000 pounds into space.

The most powerful American launch vehicle is the Space Shuttle, which can lift a maximum of about 45,000 pounds into Earth orbit.

“In general, I think there is serious interest at NASA in the use of (Russian) technology, at least in considering its use,” said Samuel W. Keller, associate deputy administrator of the space agency. “What we would like to do right now is go and understand what it is they have, and where it might fit, because it is not at all clear that their ideas will immediately interface with our hardware.”

Members of Congress have some ideas of their own.

Rohrabacher, for example, would like to scrap a multibillion-dollar program to develop a series of new American rockets, including one that could deliver a payload of 100,000 pounds, and instead contract with the Russians to launch heavy payloads on the Energia.

Rohrabacher said the cost of deploying Space Station Freedom could be cut by hiring the Russians to launch larger sections of the orbiting space platform on the Energia, instead of relying on the Space Shuttle.

Critics of the idea, however, suggest that redesigning the space station program at this late date would take time, and, as a result, waste money.

Rep. Dick Zimmer (R-N.J.), another member of the space committee, has suggested that the United States could contract for the use of the Russian space station, Mir, which has been in orbit for six years, to carry out life science and microgravity experiments.

Zimmer has strongly criticized Space Station Freedom as an overpriced “orbiting public works project.” He told the space subcommittee last month that “the savings for the American taxpayer is reason enough to take this option quite seriously.”

Zimmer last week introduced legislation that would make it easier for NASA to negotiate with the Russian Federation for acquisition of space technology by eliminating the requirement for a State Department license before talks begin. Prospects for the bill are uncertain, but it is likely to stimulate further debate on the issue.

Supporters of greater cooperation with the Russian space establishment cite several potential benefits for the United States.

Some, like Rohrabacher and Mikulski, suggest that the United States could save money by using existing Russian technology. Others say that acquisition of Russian technology would be a reasonable exchange for prospective U.S. aid requested by the former Soviet republics.

Still others suggest that purchasing Russian space technology would provide continued work for Russian space scientists and deter them from accepting lucrative employment offers from Third World countries intent on developing their own ballistic missiles.

It is not clear how far American-Russian cooperation in space may go. But there appears to be a growing sentiment in Congress to push forward with the idea.

“The fact that many of the strongest anti-Communists in Congress want to help the new republics, combined with the enormous budget pressure on the space program, I think gives us a coalition that spans the ideological spectrum,” Zimmer said.