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> 1998
> October
> October 23, 1998:
Hour One: International Space Station
NASA artist's rendering of the ISS, scheduled for completion in 2003. | As NASA prepares for the scheduled launch of a shuttle mission carrying Senator John Glenn late next week, the public's attention is once more being drawn to the skies. But what exactly is the future of NASA going to hold in the coming years?
Plans currently on the board for an International Space Station have been threatened by the troubled Russian economy. Several weeks ago the U.S. reached an agreement with Russia, under which the U.S. would essentially buy the rights to time and space that had been allotted to Russian science programs on board the station during the four-year assembly phase. The plan provides a fast infusion of cash to the Russian program - $60 million - but even that may not be enough. NASA is reportedly seeking permission to buy $660 million worth of additional goods and services from the Russian Space Agency in the coming years. | | The RSA says that it expects to launch the first module of the station, known as Zarya, in late November. The next module, a U.S. produced unit known as Unity, would then be launched about two weeks later. The entire station is slated to be complete in 2003, but some observers aren't so confident. The program is already behind schedule, and costs are rising. With the program dependent on the troubled Russian Space Agency for key parts, the fate of the station may be in jeopardy as long as Russian funding remains in dire straits.
But is the station a good idea at all? Will building the station teach us the skills we need for future missions to Mars and beyond? Will useful science be conducted on board the station - or is it more just an expensive public relations ploy? On this hour of Science Friday - the state of the station. | 
The Zarya module - NASA photo |
Guests:
John-David Bartoe
NASA Research Manager, International Space Station
Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX
Marcia Smith
Congressional Research Service
Library of Congress
Washington, DC
Robert Park
Professor of Physics
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
Books/Articles Discussed:
Related Links:
International Space Station site (NASA)
Glenn Shuttle Mission Press Kit
NASAWatch
This segment produced by:
Annette Heist |
