patchfree Ven 11 Sep 2009 - 22:50
Intéressant l'avis d'Anatoly ZAK sur les difficultés américaines à définir une ligne de conduite en matière spatiale habitées:
http://www.russianspaceweb.com/sei.html#reversal
NASA troubles with silver lining for Russia
Published: 2009 Sept. 9
A decade and a half after partners in the International Space Station, ISS, project reached a deal bringing Russia onboard, the history might be repeating itself, as financial problems push NASA back toward its old foreign partners.
The economic need for international cooperation in manned space flight will likely be the most important conclusion of the review conducted by a special panel appointed by US president Barack Obama. Known as Augustin panel after its chairman, the group released a summary report on its findings Tuesday. Although the release and following media reaction focused largely on “American-only” solutions to current NASA budgetary problems, it become the first US government document in half a decade, opening door to foreign partners for the meaningful participation in the future US manned space flight. “If international partners are actively engaged, including on the “critical path” to success, there could be substantial benefits to foreign relations, and more resources overall could become available (for achieving the goals of the US manned space flight),” the report said in the summary of its key findings.
This statement, buried at the end of the document, essentially reversed five years of American policy of excluding international partners from providing any key elements of NASA’s strategy for the return to the Moon, such as launch vehicles, transport spacecraft or lunar landers. When in 2004, the Bush administration initiated the Constellation program, it hoped to use NASA-only funds from retiring the Space Shuttle and withdrawal from the ISS project to pay for ambitious goals of building a permanent base on the Moon and even mounting human expeditions to Mars. That is until it became clear the scheme was not feasible, as this web site predicted in the midst of all the enthusiasm immediately following the public unveiling of the Constellation program.
As in 1993, the Augustin panel again cited "benefits to foreign relations" as the first reason for possible cooperation, while, in reality, money remains the one and overwhelming force driving US toward cooperation. In 1993, modestly priced Russian modules and transport spacecraft could essentially bail out NASA’s bankrupt Space Station Freedom, however a newly elected Clinton administration could have a hard time selling such an arrangement to Republicans in Congress and flag-waving Americans. As a result, economic reasons for Russian-American cooperation were masqueraded with a self-congratulating "Marshall plan in space" supposedly aimed to prevent unemployed Russian rocket scientists from seeking jobs in Iran. American press then dutifully advertised this secondary, but politically smooth explanation as the main reason for the Russian involvement in the ISS. However, the same way economic problems of the 1990s trumped American nationalism and forced the US to accept Russians into a "critical path" of the ISS program, NASA might again have no choice but to ask international partners to help it to reach for the Moon and beyond.
Conveniently, Russia just unveiled its own ambitious plans to send humans to Mars and even farther, which it said it could not implement without foreign involvement. In addition, unlike NASA’s current vision, Russia saw the ISS and its possible successor essential for any future deep-space exploration. The Augustin panel agreed, stating "…the return on investment to both the United States and our international partners would be significantly enhanced by an extension of ISS life (beyond 2015)." Russian and European officials likely breathed a sign of relief, since both -- next-generation Russian spacecraft and prospective European transport vehicle -- would need the station, as at least an initial destination in space.
On lira avec intérêt ce qu'il écrivait - et prédisait - en 2004! http://www.russianspaceweb.com/op-ed_2004_bush_plan.html