Russia, US can collaborate in Mars exploration: Putin

AP ^ | 1.27.04 | AFP

[Lurkd Long Enough]

Oh, 250 years from now, when the moon is colonized, there will be calls from some whacko contingent to "protect" the "moon heritage sites."

[Jorge]

Why do you want to be selective to your comparisons to make the U.S. safety record better? How about these statistics? Not a single American on the list. Top Ten Astronauts by total space flight time:

Who cares? What does a top ten list of astronauts flight times have to do with a space program safety record?

Why did the Russian's attempt to build a reusable space shuttle, by copying the US model fail?

[Only1choice____Freedom]

I hate to say this, but im willing to bet that we've lost more austronauts than the Russians, 14 since 86.

I suppoe it's all relative. We've had many more missions than the Russians.

Our equiptment is better made than the Russians. You don't see Air Force One being grounded for an important meeting as their's was. You don't see any of our critical control systems blink in a moment of need like the Meer space station.

Despite NASA's rush to launch and PCness that have caused the last failures, US made space vehicles are better tested and safer. They need to repair their management. Russia needs to refine product quality.

[FreedomCalls]

Oh, 250 years from now, when the moon is colonized, there will be calls from some whacko contingent to "protect" the "moon heritage sites."

Don't you think at least the footprints around Tranquility Base should not be trampled over?

[FreedomCalls]

What does a top ten list of astronauts flight times have to do with a space program safety record?

You don't think keeping someone in space for 437 days CONTINOUSLY (a year and almost 3 months - Polyakov) is a little bit more risky than sending someone up for 15 minutes (Shepard)?

[FreedomCalls]

Why did the Russian's attempt to build a reusable space shuttle, by copying the US model fail?

Lack of money.

Why has NASA failed to place a lander on Venus?

[bonesmccoy]

David Bowie would be singing... Ground control to Major Wong....

[bonesmccoy]

What's that data really saying?

The US was flying more people per flight of the orbiter.

What's the problem with that?

How many people die in Boeing, Airbus, or Tupolev aircraft?

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[FreedomCalls]

What's that data really saying? The US was flying more people per flight of the orbiter.

So maybe the Russians decided that fewer people per spacecraft is a safer method.

More stats:

Russians (two fatal accidents):
1 vehicle destroyed - crew of one dead
1 vehicle returned intact - crew of three dead

Americans (two fatal accidents):
2 vehicles destroyed - two crews of 14 dead

[FreedomCalls]

Russian space craft safest in the world

Monday, 28 April 2003

The first American was launched into space since the Columbia shuttle disaster on Saturday, aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.

U.S. astronaut Dr Edward Lu and Russian cosmonaut Yury Malenchenko blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkahstan to the International Space Station (ISS), with Russian space craft now the only link with the ISS after the shuttle program was grounded.

NASA is conducting a lengthy investigation into the February 1 accident that killed seven crew as their shuttle disintegrated on re-entry and does not expect to resume flights for a year. NASA concedes that Soyuz is uniquely safe.

"It's the most reliable spacecraft in the world in terms of its safety record. They've been flying Soyuz vehicles for 36 years but they've only had two accidents," NASA spokesman Mr Rob Navias told AFP.

"They've used the same technology for decades, and it works," he added.

On April 24, 1967, the first manned Soyuz to be launched on a test flight exploded on its return to Earth, killing the cosmonaut on board. Then on June 30, 1971, three Russian astronauts died as their Soyuz vessel re-entered the atmosphere. Since then, there have been no accidents involving manned craft.

The disappearance of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia came 17 years after space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch on January 28, 1986, killing six crew and one passenger-observer.

Leonid Mordasov, a top official from the TsNIIMASH space research institute, says current Russian space technology dates back to the 1960s. The Shuttle program began in the 1970s. But the relative lack of money, compared to the United States, forced designers to devote much greater attention to safety mechanisms, he said.

"Our rockets and launchers were made a long time ago, with modest resources but with a triple margin of safety," he told AFP. "We did not count on 'absolute' reliability, but on having the option to save the crew at all times. For every stage of the flight, there is a special safety mechanism.”.

The Americans, in contrast, spent huge funds on developing top-of-the-range technology to make the shuttle as safe as possible, but did not foresee the need to make adjustments in an emergency.

"The U.S. shuttle flight is extremely expensive and they had to give up additional security measures and rely on the quality of their components," said Mordasov.

At the tip of the Soyuz rocket is an engine that can be activated instantaneously to eject the module in which the astronauts are located. This was used twice, in 1975, when two Russian astronauts landed safely after bailing out when their Soyuz hit trouble a few minutes into the flight, and in 1983 when another two-man crew ejected after the rocket burst into flames at the launch-pad.

For US shuttles, in contrast, it takes several minutes to evacuate at launch as the crew have to get out of their seats and climb out of the hatch to escape. Inflight, parachuting out is only possible for a small part of the trajectory.

Valery Ryumin from space construction firm Energiya, believes another factor is the long years of experience in the Russian space industry, which employs 800,000 people. "Despite the break-up of the Soviet Union, we managed to keep the backbone of our experts, that's the most important," he said.

"People work for us for decades, while in the United States they hire a new group for every new project. There are few books, manuals in our sector. People learn from experience, and this human experience is irreplaceable," added Ryumin.

[bonesmccoy]

that isn't really saying much.

STS's major accomplishment should be the study of the physiologic effects when moving from 1 g to zero g and back.

The more subjects you fly, the more data you get.

ISS and STS are a unique combo to get this work done in a statistically valid manner.

The facts and the physiologic parameters are very clear.

It is a HUGE mistake to ground STS prior to completion of the ISS physiologic studies.

[Orion78]

Mr Putin said that Russia "has noted with interest President Bush's ambitious plans for the conquest of Mars," ...

Translation: America should not be allowed to have hegemony on Mars.

[DeepDish]

"Was anybody at the Nedelin disaster in, going to, or coming from space at the time?"

If that is your yardstick, then the Apollo program had zero fatalities. The men who died were not in, going to, or coming from space. The fire occurred during a training session.

[Fledermaus]

It's not possible for space ships to travel faster than the speed of light...or even the speed of light. Don't buy into the Star Trek "warp field" theory.

E=MC2

At the speed of light, matter becomes energy.

[RightWhale]

You are aware that Tranquillity Base is already protected and is part of the National Park system under control of the Dept of Forestry?

[FreedomCalls]

If that is your yardstick, then the Apollo program had zero fatalities.

That is exactly what I originally said. U.S. fatalities - 14, Russian - 4. I did not include Apollo 1 deaths. Only when goaded into comparing equal vehicles did I include them because Apollo 1 as a vehicle killed 3 people. The Apollo program itself has no actual space fatalities.

[DeepDish]

Thank you for the clarification. I have no axe to grind with the Soviet space program, they have shown the value of keeping a reliable capsule on hand, without which the ISS would go the way of Skylab. They have made immense contributions to the study of duration and the physical problems encountered in space.

[Fledermaus]

I don't know, it's theory. Matter and energy are, theorhetically, interchangable.