NASA Had No Choice But To
Buy Soyuz Flights

SPX 9jan2006

Washington DC — NASA's announcement last week that it will pay Roskosmos $43.6 million for a round-trip ride to the International Space Station this spring, and an equivalent figure for an as-yet-undetermined number of future flights to the station until 2012, represents the agency's acknowledgment that it had no alternative.

The deal was reached recently between the two space agencies after Congress last October amended the Iran Nonproliferation Act to permit NASA to conduct commerce with its Russian counterpart. The act had prohibited such transactions, because the both the Clinton and Bush administrations determined that the Russian government was aiding the development of Iran's nuclear program. The fact that both the Bush administration and Congress agreed on the need to exempt ISS activities from the prohibition underscores the desperate situation in which NASA finds itself regarding manned spaceflight.

"If the U.S. is to maintain a presence on the ISS and take advantage of the billions invested in the facility, we must rely on the Russians," Joe Pouliot, a spokesman for the House Science Committee, which oversees NASA, told SpaceDaily.com.

"It's clear we have to rely on Soyuz and Progress, and we definitely have to pay for it," Pouliot said.

Such comments sum up NASA's predicament succinctly. Since February 1, 2003, when shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry over the Southwestern United States, and with only the exception of shuttle Discovery's 14-day mission beginning last July 25, the U.S. space program has lacked any capability of putting humans into orbit.

The subsequent re-grounding of the shuttle program after Discovery's problem-plagued flight dashed any hopes of a return to regular and frequent missions.

The Congressional Research Service reached more or less identical conclusions in an analysis of the situation completed early last year. "A key issue is whether the nonproliferation benefits gained by linking the ISS to Russian proliferation behavior are worth the costs to the U.S. space program at this point in time," the CRS analysts wrote.

"From a space program perspective, the … question is the extent to which NASA needs to have U.S. astronauts on the ISS for long duration missions between 2006 and 2010, and to have any astronauts there after 2010."

Under the new agreement, NASA will pay $43.8 million for Roskosmos to fly U.S. astronaut Jeffrey Williams to the ISS in March, and return Bill McArthur, the current U.S. space station commander, home.

The amount also will cover the cost of a Soyuz craft if necessary as an emergency escape craft, and for training in Russia of a NASA astronaut who will replace Williams in September, NASA spokeswoman Melissa Mathews told reporters at a briefing last Thursday.

source: http://www.spacedaily.com/news/NASA_Had_No_Choice_But_To_Buy_Soyuz_Flights.html 9jan2006

Army Astronaut To Man Space Station

Army News Service 6jan2006

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — NASA and its international partners have selected U.S. Army astronaut Col. Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov as the next crew for the International Space Station in March.

Williams, a veteran of one space flight already, will be the first Army astronaut ever aboard the International Space Station. Retired Col. William S. McArthur is currently crewing the space station, but Williams will be the first active-duty Soldier.

Willams will serve as Expedition 13 flight engineer and NASA science officer.

Williams flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist in May 2000 on a 10-day space station assembly mission. During that mission, he performed a spacewalk lasting almost seven hours. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. He has master's degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, Calif., and the Naval War College, Newport, R.I. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.

He was selected as an astronaut in 1996 and now commands the NASA detachment of Army astronauts in Houston, Texas. There are currently five active-duty Army astronauts and two retired Army officers serving as astronauts.

Williams spent time preparing for the upcoming mission at the Russian Space Agency’s training base east of Moscow, nicknamed “Star City.”

The training at Star City included both theoretical and hands-on training in the classroom and simulators. In addition to building operational confidence and competency in vacuum chambers and practicing space walks underwater in the hydrolab, astronauts there practice winter survival skills in northern Russia and water survival in the Black Sea.

Vinogradov, a veteran of one long-duration spaceflight, will command Expedition 13. He flew aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the Russian Mir Space Station as flight engineer for the 24th resident crew in 1997, a 198-day mission. During the mission, he performed five spacewalks. A graduate of Moscow Aviation Institute, he was selected as a cosmonaut in 1992.

Astronaut Mike Fincke and Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin were selected to train as the back-up crew.

Williams and Vinogradov are scheduled to blast off in a Russian Soyuz (TMA-8) in March.

For information about the space station and crew biographical information on the Web, visit: www.nasa.gov/station.

(Editor’s note: Information provided by NASA and the U.S. Army Space Command.)

source: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=8417 9jan2006

Army Astronauts Helping Build Space Station

Army News Service 21dec1998

Houston, TX - Army Astronaut Lt. Col. Nancy Currie was aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour which recently began construction of the International Space Station.

Currie was the mission specialist who controlled the robotic arm which connected the Russian Zarya module to the U.S.-made Unity 1module. These modules make up the first components of the space station.

"I think to have long-duration science on board the International Space Station is extremely important," Currie said, in a recent interview held at the Johnson Space Center. "The other thing is that as we look beyond the space station, and as we look to a mission to Mars, for example, still to this day the single limiting factor is human physiology during long-duration spaceflight.

The Endeavor , which landed at Kennedy Space Center Dec. 15, after a 4.6 million mile journey, was NASA's final Shuttle mission of 1998. The next shuttle assembly mission to the station is STS-96, scheduled for launch aboard Discovery in May.

Three other Army astronauts are scheduled to participate in upcoming ISS Space Shuttle launches. Lt. Col. Jeffrey Williams will be on mission STS-101 in the Space Shuttle Atlantis which is scheduled for liftoff Aug. 5, 1999. STS-101 is the third ISS assembly flight. Col. William McArthur, is scheduled to conduct a spacewalk on mission STS-92 outside of the Space Shuttle Discovery. That mission, the fourth ISS assembly flight, is scheduled for Oct. 28, 1999. Col. James Voss, who speaks Russian fluently, will be on the eighth ISS assembly flight, mission STS-100 scheduled for April 20, 2000. The Atlantis will be carrying a multi-purpose logistics module in its cargo payload.

While Endeavour is now back on firm ground, 246 miles above, the new ISS continues to orbit with all systems functioning normally. The current orientation of the ISS has the Unity module facing the Earth and the Zarya module facing deep space. The station is also in a slow rotation at one revolution every 30 minutes to maintain the proper heating and cooling.

Currie is assigned to the U.S. Army Space Command, a major subordinate element of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command. The rest of the STS-88 crew were Commander Bob Cabana, Pilot Rick Sturckow, Mission Specialists Jim Newman, Jerry Ross and Sergei Krikalev

The STS-88 astronauts completed the first steps in the orbital construction of the ISS. In all, it took Jerry Ross and James Newman three space walks totalling 21 hours and 22 minutes to complete the initial assembly of the station.

ISS flight controllers at Mission Control, Houston and at the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, outside Moscow, will now spend the next five months monitoring the station's systems and awaiting the launch of Discovery on the STS-96 mission. STS-96 will see a multinational crew of seven astronauts return to the station in a logistics resupply flight which will include at least one spacewalk to attach additional hardware to the new orbiting facility.

The Space Shuttle and two types of Russian rockets will conduct 45 missions to launch and assemble the more than 100 elements which will comprise the completed ISS. In all, 460 tons of structures, modules, equipment and supplies will be placed in orbit by the year 2004.

The ISS continues the largest scientific cooperative program in history, drawing on the resources and scientific expertise of 16 nations.

For more information on Army astronauts, visit the following web site: http://www.smdc.army.mil/WhatsNew/Astronauts.html.

(Editor's note: This article was compiled from Johnson Space Center and SMDC news releases)

source: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=4665 9jan2006

Biographies

JEFFREY N. WILLIAMS (COLONEL, USA) NASA ASTRONAUT

PERSONAL DATA: Born, January 18, 1958 in Superior, Wisconsin, but considers Winter, Wisconsin to be his hometown. Married to the former Anna-Marie Moore of Newburgh, New York. They have two children. Enjoys running, fishing, camping, skiing, scuba diving and woodworking. As a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy competed on the West Point sport parachute team and also held ratings of sport parachute jumpmaster and instructor. His parents, Lloyd D. and Eunice A. Williams, reside in Winter, Wisconsin. Her mother, Gloria M. Moore, resides in Modena, New York. Her father, S. Stevens Moore, is deceased.

EDUCATION: Graduated from Winter High School, Winter, Wisconsin, in 1976; received a bachelor of science degree in applied science and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) in 1980, a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering and the degree of aeronautical engineer from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, both in 1987, and a master of arts degree in National security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 1996.

ORGANIZATIONS: Association of the U.S. Army, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, American Helicopter Society, Army Aviation Association of America, USMA Association of Graduates, Order of Daedalians, Officer Christian Fellowship.

SPECIAL HONORS: Graduated first in U.S. Naval Test Pilot School class 103; 1988 Admiral William Adger Moffett Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School; 1985 Daedalian Foundation Fellowship Award for Graduate Study in Aeronautics. Awarded Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, 2 Meritorious Service Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, and various other service awards. Master Army Aviator and Parachutist badges.

EXPERIENCE: Williams received his commission as a second lieutenant from the U.S. Military Academy in May 1980 and was designated an Army aviator in September 1981. He then completed a three-year assignment in Germany where he served as an Aeroscout Platoon Leader and Operations Officer in the 3rd Armored Division’s aviation battalion. Following his return to the United States, Williams completed a graduate program in aeronautical engineering, and was subsequently selected for an Army assignment at the Johnson Space Center, where he served for over 4 years. In 1992, Williams was selected for the Naval Test Pilot School. After graduation in June 1993, he served as an experimental test pilot and Flight Test Division Chief in the Army’s Airworthiness Qualification Test Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In 1995, he was selected for attendance at the Naval War College command and staff course as an Army exchange officer.

Williams has logged over 2,500 hours in more than 50 different aircraft.

NASA EXPERIENCE: Williams was selected for an Army assignment at Johnson Space Center in 1987. Until his transfer in 1992, he served as a Shuttle launch and landing operations engineer, a pilot in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory, and chief of the Operations Development Office, Flight Crew Operations Directorate. Selected by NASA in May 1996, Williams again reported to Johnson Space Center in August 1996. After completing two years of training and evaluation, he performed technical duties in the Spacecraft Systems Branch and later the Space Station Operations Branch. In May 2000, he served as a mission specialist and the flight engineer on STS-101. In completing his first space flight, Williams logged over 236 hours in space, including 6 hours and 44 minutes of EVA. Since STS-101, he has served in the EVA Branch of the Astronaut Office, as the Co-Chair of the Space Shuttle Cockpit Council, and on temporary assignment at NASA Headquarters in support of legislative affairs. Williams is currently training to command a future long-duration expedition to the International Space Station.

SPACE FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: STS-101 Atlantis (May 19-29, 2000) was the third Shuttle mission devoted to International Space Station (ISS) construction. Objectives included transporting and installing over 5,000 pounds of equipment and supplies, and included Williams’ first EVA (space walk) lasting over 6 hours. The mission was accomplished in 155 orbits of the Earth, traveling 4.1 million miles in 236 hours and 9 minutes.

source: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/williamsj.html 9jan2006

*************

VINOGRADOV PAVEL VLADIMIROVICH TEST-COSMONAUT OF THE ‘ENERGIA’ ROCKET SPACE CORPORATION

PERSONAL DATA: Born August 31, 1953, in Magadan, Russia. Hero of the Russian Federation, Pilot-cosmonaut of the Russian Federation, 3rd Class Cosmonaut. Hobbies include game sports, history of aviation and cosmonautics, astronomy.

EDUCATION: In 1977 Vinogradov graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute, department “Airborne Vehicles" with specialization in booster designing, and in 1980 he received the qualification of computer systems analyst at the department of “Automated Designing Systems”

EXPERIENCE : In 1977 – 1983 Vinogradov specialized in software development for automated interactive designing systems of recoverable vehicles, development of aerodynamics and aerodyne arrangement design models, computer graphics.

In 1983 Vinogradov started working for the Head Design Bureau of RSC “Energia.” He worked on flight procedure verification for “Soyuz TM” and “Buran” vehicles, development of automated crew training systems. Participated in launch preparation of the “Soyuz TM,” “Buran” vehicles and Energia rockets.

Vinogradov joined the Energia cosmonaut corps in May 1992. From October 1992 to February 1994, he completed generic space training at GCTC. From May 1994 to February 1995, he completed advanced test-cosmonaut training.

He has logged 11 hours in L-39 training airplane, and has completed 29 parachute jumps.

From February 20 to September 3, 1995, Vinogradov trained as a flight engineer of the Mir-20 and EuroMir-95 backup crew to fly on the “Soyuz TM” and “Mir” space station.

From October 1995 to August 1996, he trained for spaceflight on the “Soyuz TM” vehicle and the “Mir” space station as a flight engineer under the Mir-22/NASA-3 and “Cassiopeia” programs.

From August 1996 to August 1997, Vinogradov trained as a flight engineer of the Mir-24 prime crew. From August 5, 1997 to February 19, 1998, he performed a 198-day spaceflight onboard the “Soyuz TM” and “Mir” station as the Expedition 24 prime crew flight engineer under the Mir-24/NASA 5, 6 program.

From March 1999 to April 2000, Vinogradov trained for spaceflight as the Mir-28 backup flight engineer.

From June 2000 to December 2000, trained as the Mir-29 flight engineer.

From January 2001 to November 2002, he completed training as test-cosmonaut of the ISS group.

From December 2002 to February 2003, he trained as the flight engineer of the ISS Taxi backup crew 5.

From January 2004 Vinogradov has been training as the Expedition-13 crew commander for a six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2006.

source: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/vinogradov.html 9jan2006