House Science Committee Members Issue Space Station Reports

How feasible is it to use Russia’s Baikonur space-launch facility as a component of NASA’s space station program? What is the status of European participation in the program? These are two of the questions answered in reports issued by House science committee chairman George Brown (D-California) and the committee’s Ranking Republican, James Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) following site visits to Russia and Europe late in 1993.

The Baikonur Cosmodrome is Russia’s only launch site suitable for human spaceflight missions, and would likely be used to launch a core module and energy block providing guidance, navigation and control for the new space station. This Mir-like module would dock with the now orbiting Russian station. Last year, 21 successful missions were launched from Baikonur, located in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Russia pays rent for the use of the site.

Brown, six of his colleagues, and staff visited the Cosmodrome on December 2, 1993 to investigate reports of decline and political instability at the site. They found that the Cosmodrome “itself is a fully capable space launch facility which may make a major contribution in meeting the launch needs of space-faring nations.” While no “substantive neglect or deterioration” of the facilities was observed, the delegation concluded: “The surrounding infrastructure including transportation and living facilities is in need of major upgrade and investment in order to guarantee the ongoing viability of Baikonur, especially if the U.S. chooses to commit to a dependent relationship on the Russian space program.”

Russian and Kazakh representatives were strongly supportive of joint ventures with the U.S. Brown’s delegation concluded, “The only thing that was needed, they said, was money.” Money is needed not only for the Cosmodrome, but also for the surrounding infrastructure in the city of Leninsk for utilities, food delivery, and other basic services such as air transportation facilities. These conditions have led to previous civil unrest. The report notes, “Although there may be no direct (underscored) technical relationship between social and economic conditions in Leninsk and the launch capability at Baikonur, it would be imprudent for the U.S. to assume that there is no relationship at all.”

Another major conclusion cites the U.S. relationship to the Kazakh Republic. The report recommends that the U.S. directly engage the Republic in space cooperation and the utilization of Baikonur. Currently, the U.S. deals only with Russia.

Brown followed up on his visit with a March 28 letter to NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin. Brown requests that NASA “undertake a study to develop estimates of the nature of and cost of such investments” for infrastructure development and support, as well as “a plan for carrying out...cooperative programs” with Kazakhstan.

A separate report by Rep. James Sensenbrenner followed discussions with Russia and various European space agencies. Sensenbrenner concluded, “While the United States has initiated a bold space cooperation program with Russia, and its longstanding European partners in the International Space Station Freedom Program appear to embrace Russian space cooperation at a high political level, European confidence in the U.S.-led space station program is at an all-time low, as measured by technical participation and financial commitments to the program. The new space station initiative with Russia is widely acknowledged to be a bilateral foreign policy program of the U.S., and space officials in Europe are not prepared at this time to make specific commitments for their level of participation. Meanwhile, Russia demonstrates it is both technically confident and politically enthusiastic, even anxious, to get the joint space station program underway.” During visits with officials of the European Space Agency (ESA), Sensenbrenner was told that a final decision on their participation in an international space project will not be made until mid-1995. Sensenbrenner noted that “ESA’s budget situation is grim.”